Mechanical and electrical properties of superplastically foamed titania-based ceramics

Ceramic monofoams based on titania were fabricated using superplastic deformation driven by the evolution of gas from a foam agent. Titania-based polyfoam with porosities of up to 25% can be fabricated by dispersing only 1 mol% of foam agent (silicon carbide). When the mechanical strength of superplastically foamed titania was compared with that of fully densified titania and conventionally fabricated porous titania, the superplastically foamed ceramics retained 70% of the mechanical strength of the dense ceramics, while that of the conventional porous ceramic decreased to 40%. Niobium-doped semiconducting titania polyfoam was also fabricated. The electrical resistivity and affect of ambient humidity were similar to those of the dense ceramics.