Microfluidic fabrication of ceramic microspheres with controlled morphologies. Issue 9 (30th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liang, Shuaishuai; Li, Jiang; Li, Xiaomin; Man, Jia; Nunes, Janine K.; Chen, Haosheng
• Is Part Of: Journal of the American Ceramic Society. Volume 101:Issue 9(2018)
• Page Start: 3787
• Page End: 3796
• Publication Date: 2018-03-30
• Subjects: ceramic microspheres -- gel deformation -- microfluidics -- sol–gel reaction -- sphericity control; Ceramics -- Periodicals; 620.1405
• DOI: 10.1111/jace.15549
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7820

Abstract

Abstract: In this study, the diffusion‐induced external gelation is combined with a microfluidic technique to prepare monodisperse ZrO2 ceramic microspheres. The gelation of sol droplets is traced by fluorescence visualization of the local pH, and it illustrates the effect of the external concentration of triggering agent (tetramethylethylenediamine, TMEDA) on the formation of the gel network, which results in 3 kinds of deformation of the gel particles. The deformation mechanism mainly lies in the imbalanced Laplace pressure exerted on the gel network during the competition between the gelation and the drying processes. By regulating the concentration of TMEDA, the monodisperse ZrO2 ceramic microspheres with high sphericity can be readily fabricated. Abstract : Zirconia precursor sol is made into monodisperse single emulsion droplets dispersed in immiscible continuous phase containing the triggering agent of sol‐gel reaction. Different concentrations of the triggering agent cause distinct gelation processes, resulting in three kinds of gel morphologies. By properly regulating the concentration of triggering agent, high‐quality gel particles can be obtained and further sintered to monodisperse ceramic microspheres.