Abstract
This chapter discusses the thermodynamic principles of wetting of a ceramic powder by a liquid as a first step for its dispersion in the liquid. Once the ceramic powder is dispersed in the liquid, the powder must be de-agglomerated by grinding, mixing, or ultrasonics. De-agglomeration can take place by two methods: comminution and ultrasonification. Ultrasonics is most often utilized for powder de-agglomeration in the laboratory. This technique is frequently used with submicron-sized powders that are hard to disperse by other methods. When a liquid is exposed to progressively higher ultrasonic powder, small vapor bubbles start to appear above a certain level of threshold energy. A simplified model for ultrasonic dispersion was presented. Once the powder is de-aggomerated it must be protected from re-agglomeration by the adsorption of the solvent, an ion, a surfactant, or a polymer at the newly formed surface. Various solvent and surfactant selection schemes and the chemical stability of a ceramic powder in a solvent system have been discussed in the chapter.
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