Mechanical properties of porous TiO₂ ceramics fabricated by freeze casting process

Abstract

Porous TiO₂ ceramics with lamellar architecture were fabricated by the freeze casting technique. As the initial solid loading increased from 40 to 80 wt-%, the porosity decreased from 68 to 16% correspondingly. Their compression properties improved with the deduction in the porosity. A sudden change in compressive strength was found when the porosity decreased from 60 to 45% due to evolution of the lamellar microstructure. The failure mechanisms during indentation tests were investigated and discussed with regards to their microstructures.

Keywords:

• Porous TiO₂
• Freeze casting
• Mechanical properties

J. Chen would like to acknowledge for Southeast University Major Program Science and Research Guidance fund grant no. 3212003103 and National Natural Science Foundation of China grant no. 11204031.