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Porous Ceramics

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Porous Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 May 2017) | Viewed by 44178

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Glass and Ceramics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 90762 Erlangen, Germany
Interests: periodic and nonperiodic cellular ceramics and composites, microstructure characterisation (esp. microtomography) and testing, simulation and modeling on µCT-derived microstructure models
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern porous ceramic materials can be used for a wide range of possible applications such as catalyst support structures, filter, heat or acoustic insulation, scaffolds or lightweight structures. Especially due to their highporosity, high temperature resistance, pore interconnectivity and permeability, they can be used for example as exhaust diesel filters or catalyst support structure in the automotive industry, as well as for filter or purification systems in the chemical and metal-processing industry, in waste-water treatment, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and food technology. Besides this, various porous ceramics such as cellular lightweight structures can be used as thermal and acoustic insulators, ceramic heaters and heat exchangers. Porous ceramics show outstanding structural (open/closed pores, cell/pore shape) and physical (mechanical, thermal, electric and acoustic) properties depending on porosity, pore network, pore connectivity and pore shape. These parameters are adjusted and affected by processing parameters and different techniques resulting in a wide variation of porous ceramic materials covering an extensive range of structural and physical properties. 

This Issue aims to cover research of relevance to novel processing techniques on porous and cellular ceramics, characterisation and testing setup for physical and structural properties and simulation and optimization methods. 

The subjects of the manuscripts can include, without being limited to, the following themes: Processing methods and technologies, hierarchical porosity, the influence of porosity on various properties, pore forming mechanisms, microstructure evaluation, physical and structural characterisation and testing, optimization (including calculations) of properties and processes, simulation of properties over length-scales, applications of porous ceramics. 

Dr. Tobias Fey
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • processing of porous ceramics
  • porosity over length scales
  • structure-property relationship
  • simulation/optimization of properties

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

19786 KiB  
Article
Improving the Strength of ZTA Foams with Different Strategies: Immersion Infiltration and Recoating
by Xiaodong Chen, Ulf Betke, Stefan Rannabauer, Paul Clemens Peters, Gerrit Maximilian Söffker and Michael Scheffler
Materials 2017, 10(7), 735; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10070735 - 1 Jul 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5078
Abstract
The combination of high strength and toughness, excellent wear resistance and moderate density makes zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) a favorable ceramic, and the foam version of it may also exhibit excellent properties. Here, ZTA foams were prepared by the polymer sponge replication method. We [...] Read more.
The combination of high strength and toughness, excellent wear resistance and moderate density makes zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) a favorable ceramic, and the foam version of it may also exhibit excellent properties. Here, ZTA foams were prepared by the polymer sponge replication method. We developed an immersion infiltration approach with simple equipment and operations to fill the hollow struts in as-prepared ZTA foams, and also adopted a multiple recoating method (up to four cycles) to strengthen them. The solid load of the slurry imposed a significant influence on the properties of the ZTA foams. Immersion infiltration gave ZTA foams an improvement of 1.5 MPa in compressive strength to 2.6 MPa at 87% porosity, only resulting in a moderate reduction of porosity (2–3%). The Weibull modulus of the infiltrated foams was in the range of 6–9. The recoating method generated an increase in compression strength to 3.3–11.4 MPa with the reduced porosity of 58–83%. The recoating cycle dependency of porosity and compression strength is nearly linear. The immersion infiltration strategy is comparable to the industrially-established recoating method and can be applied to other reticulated porous ceramics (RPCs). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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12448 KiB  
Article
The Production of Porous Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds with Graded Porosity by Sequential Freeze-Casting
by Hyun Lee, Tae-Sik Jang, Juha Song, Hyoun-Ee Kim and Hyun-Do Jung
Materials 2017, 10(4), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10040367 - 31 Mar 2017
Cited by 48 | Viewed by 8655
Abstract
Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds with porosity-graded structures were fabricated by sequential freeze-casting. The pore structures, compressive strengths, and biocompatibilities of the fabricated porous HA scaffolds were evaluated. The porosities of the inner and outer layers of the graded HA scaffolds were controlled by [...] Read more.
Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds with porosity-graded structures were fabricated by sequential freeze-casting. The pore structures, compressive strengths, and biocompatibilities of the fabricated porous HA scaffolds were evaluated. The porosities of the inner and outer layers of the graded HA scaffolds were controlled by adjusting the initial HA contents of the casting slurries. The interface between the dense and porous parts was compact and tightly adherent. The porosity and compressive strengths of the scaffold were controlled by the relative thicknesses of the dense/porous parts. In addition, the porous HA scaffolds showed good biocompatibility in terms of preosteoblast cell attachment and proliferation. The results suggest that porous HA scaffolds with load-bearing parts have potential as bone grafts in hard-tissue engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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9991 KiB  
Article
Textural, Structural and Biological Evaluation of Hydroxyapatite Doped with Zinc at Low Concentrations
by Daniela Predoi, Simona Liliana Iconaru, Aurélien Deniaud, Mireille Chevallet, Isabelle Michaud-Soret, Nicolas Buton and Alina Mihaela Prodan
Materials 2017, 10(3), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10030229 - 25 Feb 2017
Cited by 70 | Viewed by 6986
Abstract
The present work was focused on the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite doped with low concentrations of zinc (Zn:HAp) (0.01 < xZn < 0.05). The incorporation of low concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the hydroxyapatite (HAp) structure was achieved by co-precipitation [...] Read more.
The present work was focused on the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite doped with low concentrations of zinc (Zn:HAp) (0.01 < xZn < 0.05). The incorporation of low concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the hydroxyapatite (HAp) structure was achieved by co-precipitation method. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), zeta-potential, and DLS and N2-BET measurements. The results obtained by XRD and FTIR studies demonstrated that doping hydroxyapatite with low concentrations of zinc leads to the formation of a hexagonal structure with lattice parameters characteristic to hydroxyapatite. The XRD studies have also shown that the crystallite size and lattice parameters of the unit cell depend on the substitutions of Ca2+ with Zn2+ in the apatitic structure. Moreover, the FTIR analysis revealed that the water content increases with the increase of zinc concentration. Furthermore, the Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) and XPS analyses showed that the elements Ca, P, O, and Zn were found in all the Zn:HAp samples suggesting that the synthesized materials were zinc doped hydroxyapatite, Ca10−xZnx(PO4)6(OH), with 0.01 ≤ xZn ≤ 0.05. Antimicrobial assays on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains and HepG2 cell viability assay were carried out. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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4778 KiB  
Article
Pore Formation Process of Porous Ti3SiC2 Fabricated by Reactive Sintering
by Huibin Zhang, Xinli Liu and Yao Jiang
Materials 2017, 10(2), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10020163 - 10 Feb 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4596
Abstract
Porous Ti3SiC2 was fabricated with high purity, 99.4 vol %, through reactive sintering of titanium hydride (TiH2), silicon (Si) and graphite (C) elemental powders. The reaction procedures and the pore structure evolution during the sintering process were systematically studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) [...] Read more.
Porous Ti3SiC2 was fabricated with high purity, 99.4 vol %, through reactive sintering of titanium hydride (TiH2), silicon (Si) and graphite (C) elemental powders. The reaction procedures and the pore structure evolution during the sintering process were systematically studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Our results show that the formation of Ti3SiC2 from TiH2/Si/C powders experienced the following steps: firstly, TiH2 decomposed into Ti; secondly, TiC and Ti5Si3 intermediate phases were generated; finally, Ti3SiC2 was produced through the reaction of TiC, Ti5Si3 and Si. The pores formed in the synthesis procedure of porous Ti3SiC2 ceramics are derived from the following aspects: interstitial pores left during the pressing procedure; pores formed because of the TiH2 decomposition; pores formed through the reactions between Ti and Si and Ti and C powders; and the pores produced accompanying the final phase synthesized during the high temperature sintering process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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5960 KiB  
Article
Separation of Hydrogen from Carbon Dioxide through Porous Ceramics
by Taro Shimonosono, Hikari Imada, Hikaru Maeda and Yoshihiro Hirata
Materials 2016, 9(11), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9110930 - 16 Nov 2016
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5750
Abstract
The gas permeability of α-alumina, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and silicon carbide porous ceramics toward H2, CO2, and H2–CO2 mixtures were investigated at room temperature. The permeation of H2 and CO2 single gases occurred above [...] Read more.
The gas permeability of α-alumina, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and silicon carbide porous ceramics toward H2, CO2, and H2–CO2 mixtures were investigated at room temperature. The permeation of H2 and CO2 single gases occurred above a critical pressure gradient, which was smaller for H2 gas than for CO2 gas. When the Knudsen number (λ/r ratio, λ: molecular mean free path, r: pore radius) of a single gas was larger than unity, Knudsen flow became the dominant gas transportation process. The H2 fraction for the mixed gas of (20%–80%) H2–(80%–20%) CO2 through porous Al2O3, YSZ, and SiC approached unity with decreasing pressure gradient. The high fraction of H2 gas was closely related to the difference in the critical pressure gradient values of H2 and CO2 single gas, the inlet mixed gas composition, and the gas flow mechanism of the mixed gas. Moisture in the atmosphere adsorbed easily on the porous ceramics and affected the critical pressure gradient, leading to the increased selectivity of H2 gas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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2208 KiB  
Article
Paper Sludge Reuse in Lightweight Aggregates Manufacturing
by How-Ji Chen, Ying-Chih Hsueh, Ching-Fang Peng and Chao-Wei Tang
Materials 2016, 9(11), 876; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9110876 - 27 Oct 2016
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5183
Abstract
The lightweight aggregates used by the civil engineering market are sintered at a high temperature, about 1200 °C. In times of high energy prices and regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, lightweight aggregate products of the high-temperature process in sales marketing are not readily [...] Read more.
The lightweight aggregates used by the civil engineering market are sintered at a high temperature, about 1200 °C. In times of high energy prices and regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, lightweight aggregate products of the high-temperature process in sales marketing are not readily accepted. This study developed a sintered-type paper sludge lightweight aggregate. In order to reduce energy consumption, substitution of some reservoir sediment clay in paper sludge substitutes is to be expected. The study used two types of paper sludge (green clay paper sludge and paper pulp sludge). The sintering temperature was reduced effectively as the green clay paper sludge was substituted for some of the reservoir sediment clay, and the optimum substitute ranges of green clay paper sludge were 10%–50%. The optimum substitute ranges of the paper pulp sludge were 10%–40%. Test results show that the properties of aggregates have a particle density of 0.66–1.69 g/cm3, a water absorption of 5%–30%, and a loss on ignition of 10%–43%. The loss on ignition of aggregate became greater with the increase in paper sludge content. This means that the calorific value provided by the paper sludge will increase as paper sludge content increases. Paper sludge can therefore be considered a good material to provide heat energy for sintering lightweight aggregate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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6713 KiB  
Article
Modification of Lightweight Aggregates’ Microstructure by Used Motor Oil Addition
by Małgorzata Franus, Grzegorz Jozefaciuk, Lidia Bandura, Krzysztof Lamorski, Mieczysław Hajnos and Wojciech Franus
Materials 2016, 9(10), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9100845 - 18 Oct 2016
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6146
Abstract
An admixture of lightweight aggregate substrates (beidellitic clay containing 10 wt % of natural clinoptilolite or Na-P1 zeolite) with used motor oil (1 wt %–8 wt %) caused marked changes in the aggregates’ microstructure, measured by a combination of mercury porosimetry (MIP), microtomography [...] Read more.
An admixture of lightweight aggregate substrates (beidellitic clay containing 10 wt % of natural clinoptilolite or Na-P1 zeolite) with used motor oil (1 wt %–8 wt %) caused marked changes in the aggregates’ microstructure, measured by a combination of mercury porosimetry (MIP), microtomography (MT), and scanning electron microscopy. Maximum porosity was produced at low (1%–2%) oil concentrations and it dropped at higher concentrations, opposite to the aggregates’ bulk density. Average pore radii, measured by MIP, decreased with an increasing oil concentration, whereas larger (MT) pore sizes tended to increase. Fractal dimension, derived from MIP data, changed similarly to the MIP pore radius, while that derived from MT remained unaltered. Solid phase density, measured by helium pycnometry, initially dropped slightly and then increased with the amount of oil added, which was most probably connected to changes in the formation of extremely small closed pores that were not available for He atoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Porous Ceramics)
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