Study of a Copolymer for Ceramic Processing
Date
2015-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering.
Abstract
A copolymer of isobutylene and maleic anhydride (IB-MA) is a new
environmentally friendly and multifunctional organic, which can work as a dispersant, a
spontaneously gelling agent, and a binder for aqueous casting process. IB-MA was
applied to aqueous gelcasting and tape casting techniques for ceramics production.
Environmentally friendly IB-MA can work as both a dispersant and a
spontaneously gelling agent for ceramic aqueous processing, which can shorten the
ceramic production time, lower the cost, and green to the environment. For the gelcasting
process, alumina (Al2O3) powder was chosen as the raw ceramic materials. The
morphology of the ceramic powders was measured. The rheological properties of ceramic
slurries were investigated as a function of solid loading and IB-MA concentration. Al2O3
ceramic green bodies with large size and complex shapes were successfully produced by
the IB-MA spontaneous gelling system. The microstructures of Al2O3 ceramic in
different processing stages were observed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Translucent Al2O3 ceramics were obtained after the de-binding and final vacuum
sintering process.
Meanwhile, environmentally friendly IB-MA can work as both a dispersant and a
binder for ceramic aqueous tape casting, which can simplify the production process,
reduce the production cost, and be green to the environment. For the tape casting process,
alumina (Al2O3) and yttrium aluminate garnet (YAG) powders were used as the raw
ceramic materials. The ceramic particle morphology and microstructure of ceramic tapes
before and after sintering were investigated by SEM. The rheological properties of the
ceramic suspensions were characterized by the viscosity of the systems as a function of
shear rate. The optical properties of the obtained vacuum-sintered ceramic wafers were
examined in the ultra violet & visible (UV-VIS) and infrared (IR) region. Good quality
transparent ceramic wafers were produced by IM-BA aqueous tape casting process.
Description
Advisory committee members: William Carty, David Lipke. Dissertation completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Materials Science and Engineering at the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
Type
Thesis