Freeze casting of arbitrary‐shaped porous ceramics

Porous ceramics hold great potential in the field such as bone tissue engineering, superinsulation material, and energy storage. However, it is quite challenging to fabricate them with arbitrary shape using conventional processes. Herein, a method to fabricate arbitrary‐shaped porous ceramic structure is presented by combining traditional freeze casting process and indirect 3D printing technology. Various Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft molds are prepared for freeze casting, and diverse shaped porous ceramics are fabricated. It proves that PDMS molds are ideal choices for freeze casting of porous ceramics with complex geometries. The freeze casting process of a complex‐shape model with PDMS was simulated by finite element analysis. The effect of the solid loading of the alumina suspension on the microstructure, and compressive strength of the as‐fabricated porous ceramics were investigated. The present study provides a strategy to fabricate complex shape porous ceramic structure that can be used in a wide variety of applications.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.