<i>In situ</i> Fabrication of a Dense/Porous Bi‐layered Ceramic Composite using Freeze Casting of a Ceramic–Camphene Slurry

Abstract

Dense/porous bi‐layered ceramic composites were fabricated in situ by freeze casting a ceramic/camphene slurry with a low solid content (φ=20 vol%). The warm slurry was prepared at 55°C by ball milling and cast into a mold at 25°C, where the top surface of the cast body was exposed to air to allow for the controlled evaporation of molten camphene. This simple method produced a high solid content with negligible camphene (φ&gt;50 vol%) on the top layer, while maintaining a low solid loading with solidified camphene (φ∼20 vol%) in the inner region. The sintered sample showed a dense 125‐μm‐thick ceramic layer on a highly porous layer with a thickness of ∼1.7 mm and three‐dimensionally interconnected pore channels that were representative of entangled dendritic growth of the solidified camphene.