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Preparation of Sizable and Uniform‐Sized Spherical Ceramic Foams: Drop‐in‐Oil and Agar Gelation
Author(s) -
Han Yosep,
Kim Seongmin,
Kim Hyunjung,
Park Jaikoo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2011.04681.x
Subject(s) - agar , drop (telecommunication) , materials science , emulsion , ceramic , chemical engineering , composite material , chromatography , chemistry , telecommunications , genetics , computer science , bacteria , engineering , biology
We propose a simple and environmentally friendly method to prepare uniform‐sized spherical ceramic foams ( SCF s) with excellent pore properties by combining a drop‐in‐oil method with agar gelation. In addition, the change in size distribution and uniformity (characterized as coefficient of variation ( C.V. )) and the corresponding pore‐related properties for the SCF s were systematically investigated as functions of agar concentration (i.e., 0.50–1.50 wt% with respect to dry alumina). The results showed that uniform‐sized SCF s were successfully fabricated regardless of agar concentration, that pore‐related properties were gradually improved by increasing the agar content, and that the most uniform‐sized SCF s were obtained when the agar concentration was 1.00 wt%. The extent of the improvement in size uniformity was evaluated by comparing the C.V. value for the drop‐in‐oil method with that for the pseudo‐double‐emulsion ( PDE ) method, which is an alternative method to fabricate SCF s. The C.V. values for the SCF s prepared by the drop‐in‐oil and the PDE method were determined to be 7% and 31%, respectively. The results clearly indicate that the size uniformity of the SCF s has been much improved for the drop‐in‐oil method as compared to the PDE method.