ZrTiO4 porous ceramics fabricated from particle-stabilized wet foam by direct foaming

Abstract

Indent ZrTiO4 ceramics are widely used to manufacture electrical and optical devices. This study reveals an approach for the production of micro-porous ceramics consisting of TiO2 and ZrO2 by using a direct foaming method. ZrO2 particles in a colloidal suspension were partially hydrophobized by using propyl gallate as an amphiphile in a suitable pH range. Different mole ratios of the TiO2 suspension were added to the surface-modified ZrO2 suspension. The contact angle was found to be around 54° and the adsorption free energy to be 1.68 × 10−11 ∼ 9.2 × 10−12 J·A Laplace pressure of about 2.0 ∼ 2.2 mPa, corresponding to a wet foam stability of about 80 ∼ 85% was determined. A microstructure analysis was done after the dried samples had been sintered to obtain porous ceramics.