Reticulated Porous Foam Ceramics with Different Surface Chemistries

The aim of this study was to discuss the influence of different filter surface chemistries on the properties of foam filters. For reliable results, it is essential to ensure comparable structural properties (cell size and strut thickness) for all different surface chemistries (Al₂O₃, MgAl₂O₄, 3Al₂O₃·2SiO₂, SiO₂, and TiO₂) possess the same structural properties (cell size and strut thickness). Filters made of 100% of the investigated materials and alumina skeletons coated with the investigated materials were prepared. The coated alumina samples were sintered in one and two steps. The processing route with two sintering steps resulted in improved mechanical properties and comparable shrinkage and strut thickness. The 100% bulk foams possessed different pore sizes due to the differences of the material shrinkage. In this study, a comparison of the experimental investigated properties of the ceramic foam filters and the theoretically calculated values for foam materials derived from the bulk material properties is established.