Suspension polymerization casting of lead zirconate titanate, part I: Acrylamide hydrogel system

Suspension polymerization casting of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) filled acrylamide systems was studied. A high solid loading (51 vol%) PZT slurry with low viscosity (about 280 mPa.s at shear rate 10 s(-1)) was obtained by optimizing the dispersant amount. The polymerization process for the monomer solution and PZT slurry were characterized with the help of the storage modulus measurement. For the monomer solution, the overall activation energy of gelation was calculated as 60-76 kJ/mol, while for the PZT slurry, this energy increased to 91 +/- 9 kJ/mol. The drying, burnout and sintering processes were also addressed. (C) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.