The association of gelcasting process with aeration of ceramic suspensions allowed the development of a new category of ceramic foams, which shows unprecedented properties. One of the key points of this process is the gelling reaction, which sets the suspension after the generation of foam. Recently, some monomeric systems were described as good gelling agents for ceramic suspensions, such as ammonium acrylate, hydroxymethil-acryalmide, methacrylic acid, methacrylamide and methylene-bysacrylamide. These systems were studied in this work considering the criteria required to produce ceramic foams, as the reaction kinetics, the effects on dispersion mechanisms and on rheological behavior of suspensions, the influence on the foam volume produced, and the green strength of gelled material. An alternative system, based in the crosslinking of polyvinyl-alcohol macromolecules was also studied. This reaction is not inhibited by oxygen, as occurs with monomer-based systems. It is expected that the results will help in the selection of gelling systems for the production of porous ceramics through the novel gelcasting of foams route.
porous ceramics; foam; gelcasting; PVAl
