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Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are considered as a family of nonmetallic and inorganic materials that have melting point over 3000 ℃. Chemically, nearly all UHTCs are borides, carbides, and nitrides of early transition metals (e.g., Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta). Within the last two decades, except for the great achievements in the densification, microstructure tailoring, and mechanical property improvements of UHTCs, many methods have been established for the preparation of porous UHTCs, aiming to develop high-temperature resistant, sintering resistant, and lightweight materials that will withstand temperatures as high as 2000 ℃ for long periods of time. Amongst the synthesis methods for porous UHTCs, sol–gel methods enable the preparation of porous UHTCs with pore sizes from 1 to 500 μm and porosity within the range of 60%–95% at relatively low temperature. In this article, we review the currently available sol–gel methods for the preparation of porous UHTCs. Templating, foaming, and solvent evaporation methods are described and compared in terms of processing–microstructure relations. The properties and high temperature resistance of sol–gel derived porous UHTCs are discussed. Finally, directions to future investigations on the processing and applications of porous UHTCs are proposed.


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Sol–gel derived porous ultra-high temperature ceramics

Show Author's information Fei LIa( )Xiao HUANGbJi-Xuan LIUaGuo-Jun ZHANGa( )
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Institute of Functional Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China

Abstract

Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are considered as a family of nonmetallic and inorganic materials that have melting point over 3000 ℃. Chemically, nearly all UHTCs are borides, carbides, and nitrides of early transition metals (e.g., Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta). Within the last two decades, except for the great achievements in the densification, microstructure tailoring, and mechanical property improvements of UHTCs, many methods have been established for the preparation of porous UHTCs, aiming to develop high-temperature resistant, sintering resistant, and lightweight materials that will withstand temperatures as high as 2000 ℃ for long periods of time. Amongst the synthesis methods for porous UHTCs, sol–gel methods enable the preparation of porous UHTCs with pore sizes from 1 to 500 μm and porosity within the range of 60%–95% at relatively low temperature. In this article, we review the currently available sol–gel methods for the preparation of porous UHTCs. Templating, foaming, and solvent evaporation methods are described and compared in terms of processing–microstructure relations. The properties and high temperature resistance of sol–gel derived porous UHTCs are discussed. Finally, directions to future investigations on the processing and applications of porous UHTCs are proposed.

Keywords: microstructure, ultra-high temperature ceramics, sol–gel, porous ceramics, processing

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Publication history

Received: 20 December 2018
Revised: 10 April 2019
Accepted: 15 April 2019
Published: 05 February 2020
Issue date: February 2020

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© The author(s) 2019

Acknowledgements

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51602324 and 51532009) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2232018D3-32) are gratefully acknowledged.

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