Fabrication of Porous Nanocrystalline TiO2 Materials by SPS

A dense microcellular ceramic structure is fabricated using micron-sized Al₉₀Mn₉Ce₁ alloy powder clad with 8 wt% TiO₂ nanopowder by filling the ceramic with the Al₉₀Mn₉Ce₁ metal alloy composite and subjecting the mixture to a temperature of 520 °C. SEM imaging shows that the thickness of the ceramic cell wall is 1.0–2.0 μm; and, the inner dimension of the alloy is 15–40 μm. The ceramic filled with the metal alloy composite is subjected to deep corrosion with 10% hydrochloric acid solution; and, a porous nanocrystalline TiO₂ structure is obtained. Results show that this novel preparation procedure provides a pathway with which to produce porous nano-materials for a wide range of applications. Based on the experimental results, a transient interface sintering mechanism of the spark plasma sintering (SPS) nano/micro mixing powder is proposed.