Fabrication of porous titanium carbide ceramics by gelcasting process

Abstract Titanium carbide ceramics with high porosity were fabricated by gelcasting process with methacrylamide as a chain forming monomer, methylenebisacrylamide as a cross‐linker monomer and tetramethylammonium hydroxide as a dispersant. The stability of suspension, mechanical properties, phase composition and microstructure were investigated by zeta potential, bending and compressive strengths, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, respectively. The results show that the optimal concentration of dispersant for the best homogeneous unagglomerated microstructures is 0.4 wt% at pH 9. The highest green strength of 33 MPa is obtained from the suspension with 40 vol% solid loading and 25 wt% monomer. The porosity increases with the increase in monomer content and the decrease in solid loading. Also, the strength of porous TiC ceramic decreases with the content of pores increasing in the sintered ceramics.