The Characterization of Silica-Nickel Oxide (SiO2-NiO) Foam with Different NiO Composition and Sintering Temperatures / Syazwani Baharom...[et al.]

The porous Silica-Nickel Oxide (SiO2-NiO) ceramic had been fabricated by polymeric replication method, which produced high porosity with large interconnections. The influences of NiO composition on the morphology and properties of foams, including the compressive strength were studied. Polyurethane (PU) as the template was cut into a cylindrical shape of 12.5mm and 26.0 mm height. The PU template was impregnated in the prepared ceramic slurry which was a mixture of distilled water with Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), Silica (SiO2) and Nickel Oxide (NiO). The composition of SiO2 was fixed at 55 wt.% with varied NiO content of 2 wt.%, 4 wt.%, 6 wt.% and 8 wt.%. The impregnated PU template was then dried in the drying oven and later the sintering process at temperatures of 1000ºC, 1100ºC and 1200ºC. The morphology of ceramic foam was analysed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), while properties of sintered foam were determined by porosity and density test, and compressive test. The window cell size was observed within 200-800 μm with porosity and density results was in the range of 54.48-66.21% and 0.81-1.21 g/cm3, respectively. The compressive strength of ceramic foam obtained was within 0.42-1.16 MPa.