Cellular ceramics have been produced by several methods, resulting in a wide range of structures and properties. This work describes a novel route to produce cellular ceramics based on the gel casting of emulsions consisting of an aqueous ceramic suspension containing water-soluble organic monomers and an emulsified insoluble liquid phase (kerosene). The effects of solids loading and kerosene content on the rheological properties of emulsions were evaluated. SEM of the cellular structure revealed isolated pores for samples with low porosity, which changed to an interconnected network of pores as the porosity increased. Diametrical compression was used to evaluate the strength of sintered samples, which varied in the range of 2.0 and 48 MPa, depending on the porosity.
cellular ceramics; emulsions o/w; gelcasting; alumina
