Properties and ceramic transformation of Si-Zr-O-C precursor ceramics with porous structure

The preparation of ceramic materials with complex porous structures through photopolymerization-based 3D printing requires the development of stable and printable slurries. In this study, zirconium acetylacetonate was incorporated into the thiol vinyl organosilicon prepolymer to create a photosensitive Si-Zr-O-C slurry. Regarding the natural bone structures and the Tyson polygon principle, a gradient pore structure was designed and then printed using a digital light processing 3D printer. After printing, the effects of sintering temperatures on the phase composition and structure of Si-Zr-O-C ceramics were systematically investigated. Subsequently, a comparative analysis of structure and properties was performed on sintered samples with different zirconium acetylacetonate contents. The results revealed that the sample containing 30 wt. % zirconium acetylacetonate exhibited a higher compressive strength of 9.70 +/- 0.28 MPa and a lower room temperature thermal conductivity of 0.528 W m(-1) K-1. This study confirmed the significant potential of using 3D printing technology to prepare Si-Zr-O-C precursor ceramics with a porous structure.