Processing Methods for the Preparation of Porous Ceramics

Macroporous ceramics with tailored pore size and shape could be used for well-established and emerging applications, such as molten metal filtration, biomaterial, catalysis, thermal insulation, hot gas filtration and diesel particulate filters. In these applications, unique properties of porous materials were required which could be achieved through the incorporation of macro-pores into ceramics. In this article, we reviewed the main processing techniques which can be used for the fabrication of macroporous ceramics with tailored microstructure. Partial sintering, replica templates, sacrificial fugutives, and direct foaming techniques was described here and compared in terms of microstructures and mechanical properties that could be achieved. The main focus was given to the direct foaming technique which was simple and versatile approach that allowed the fabrication of macro-porous ceramics with tailored features and properties.