Background
Porous metal materials have broad application prospects in filtration, catalysis, and energy fields due to their lightweight nature, high specific surface area, and excellent permeability. The ice-template method uses directional ice crystal growth to guide the formation of ordered porous structures.
Technical Approach
Ice-Template Directional Solidification
- Exploits the preferential growth of ice crystals during directional solidification
- Metal powders are pushed into inter-crystal gaps to form a skeleton
- Freeze-drying followed by sintering yields porous metals with directional pore channels
Structural Control
- Pore size regulated by controlling solidification rate
- Porosity controlled by adjusting slurry concentration
- Achieves lamellar, columnar, and other pore morphologies
Applications
- Liquid filtration and separation
- Catalyst supports
- Heat exchangers