Porous alumina and zirconia ceramics with tailored thermal conductivity

The thermal conductivity of porous ceramics can be tailored by slip casting and uniaxial dry pressing, using either fugitive pore formers (saccharides) or partial sintering. Porous alumina and zirconia ceramics have been prepared using appropriate powder types (ungranulated for casting, granulated for pressing) and identical firing regimes (but different maximum temperatures in the case of partial sintering). Thermal diffusivities have been measured by the laser- and xenon-flash method and transformed into relative thermal conductivities, which enable a temperature-independent comparison between different materials. While the porosity can be controlled in a similar way for both materials when using pore formers, partial sintering exhibits characteristic differences between alumina and zirconia (for alumina porosities below 45 %, full density above 1600 degrees C, for zirconia porosities below 60 %, full density above 1300 degrees C). The different compaction behavior of alumina and zirconia (porosity after pressing 0.465 and 0.597, respectively) is reflected in the fact that for alumina the relative conductivity data of partially sintered materials are below the exponential prediction, while for zirconia they coincide with the latter. Notwithstanding these characteristic differences, for both alumina and zirconia it is possible to tailor the thermal conductivity from 100 % down to approx. 15 % of the solid phase value.