Improved forming performance of β-TCP powders by doping silica for 3D ceramic printing

Abstract

High-quality β-Ca3(PO4)2 (TCP) powders with the improved forming performance were prepared by doping silica in solid state method for 3D ceramic printing. The different concentrations of silica were employed as the sintering additive to investigate the effect on the dispersity of β-TCP powders, microstructures and the densities of as-prepared ceramics. The sintering additive could reduce the agglomeration of raw powders in the progress of ball-milling, and weakly agglomerated powders were obtained which meant improvement of formability. Meanwhile, the average grain sizes decreased and densities of as-prepared β-TCP ceramics increased with the increasing of silica doping concentration. The sample with the best performance was achieved with 1.0 wt% SiO2 when sintered at 1050 °C for 8 h in air. Its average grain size and relative density were 0.57 μm and 70.42%, respectively.