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Room-temperature gelcasting of alumina with a water-soluble copolymer

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Abstract

A novel and simple method for gelcasting of alumina was developed using a nontoxic and water-soluble copolymer of isobutylene and maleic anhydride (commercially called Isobam). In this method, there is requirement of only a small amount of Isobam (0.3 wt%) and neither initiators nor dispersants are needed for preparation and gelation of a 50 vol% solids loaded alumina slurry. The gelation rate increased with increasing solids loading but decreased with increasing Isobam content. A typical gelation time was 38 min for the slurry containing 50 vol% solids loading and 0.3 wt% Isobam. The resultant wet gel was strong enough to allow reversible bending and twisting. This simple gelling system is attractive for wet forming of ceramics because only a single additive, which acts as both dispersant and gelling agent at room temperature in air, is used.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was financially supported by China National 863 Project (Grant No. 2009AA03Z440) and partly by 2011 Project of SICCAS—GuangSheng R&D Center for Rare Earth New Materials. The authors would like to thank Mr. Yoshihiro Yoshioka of Kuraray Polymer Co., Ltd. Japan for his helpful discussion and donation of Isobam 104# for this study. We also thank Prof. Hidehiro Kamiya, from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan for his helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. R&D Center for Structural Ceramics and Composites, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, 200050

    Yan Yang, Shunzo Shimai & Shiwei Wang

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  1. Yan Yang
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  2. Shunzo Shimai
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  3. Shiwei Wang
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Correspondence to Shiwei Wang.

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Yang, Y., Shimai, S. & Wang, S. Room-temperature gelcasting of alumina with a water-soluble copolymer. Journal of Materials Research 28, 1512–1516 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2013.132

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