Fabrication of Porous Ni by Freeze Drying and Hydrogen Reduction of NiO/Camphene Slurry

In this study, freeze drying of a porous Ni with unidirectionally aligned pore channels is accomplished by using a NiO powder and camphene. Camphene slurries with NiO content of 5 and 10 vol% are prepared by mixing them with a small amount of dispersant at $50^{\circ}C$. Freezing of a slurry is performed at $-25^{\circ}C$ while the growth direction of the camphene is unidirectionally controlled. Pores are generated subsequently by sublimation of the camphene during drying in air for 48 h. The green bodies are hydrogen-reduced at $400^{\circ}C$ and then sintered at $800^{\circ}C$ and $900^{\circ}C$ for 1 h. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the NiO powder is completely converted to the Ni phase without any reaction phases. The sintered samples show large pores that align parallel pores in the camphene growth direction as well as small pores in the internal walls of large pores. The size of large and small pores decreases with increasing powder content from 5 to 10 vol%. The influence of powder content on the pore structure is explained by the degree of powder rearrangement in slurry and the accumulation behavior of powders in the interdendritic spaces of solidified camphene.

NiO/camphene 슬러리의 동결건조 및 수소환원 공정에 의한 Ni 다공체 제조