Mechanically robust ZrO2 foams with 3D reticular architecture prepared from chemical-modified ZrO2 powder

Engineering mechanically robust ZrO₂ foams with three-dimensional (3D) reticular architecture and high porosity is extremely challenging. In current work, we presented an approach for constructing such cellular ceramics via a combined polyurethane foaming and chemical grafting method. Ester functional groups were chemically grafted on the ZrO₂ powder surface to enhance its dispersibility. This approach caused the micron-sized windows to assemble onto the cell wall of porous framework, contributing to 3D interconnected reticular architecture. The resulting products with such cellular architecture possessed a high porosity level of 89.2% and maintained an ultrahigh compressive strength of 8.5 MPa. Our results open up new opportunities for fabricating high-performance ZrO₂ foams toward practical applications.