Porous TaCx ISOL target materials from mould-casted Ta4AlC3. Issue 7 (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Griseri, Matteo; Biggemann, Jonas; Ramos, João Pedro; Li, Guichuan; Dams, Ot; Popescu, Lucia; Vleugels, Jozef; Fey, Tobias; Lambrinou, Konstantina
• Is Part Of: Journal of the European Ceramic Society. Volume 41:Issue 7(2021)
• Page Start: 3947
• Page End: 3959
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: Mould casting -- Ta4AlC3 MAX phase -- Porous ultrahigh temperature ceramics -- ISOL target materials -- TaCx; Ceramic materials -- Periodicals; Composite materials -- Periodicals; Matériaux céramiques -- Périodiques; Composites -- Périodiques; Ceramic materials; Composite materials; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2021.02.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0955-2219

Abstract

Abstract: Mould casting and sacrificial templating techniques, common in bioceramic technology, were employed to process porous TaCx ultra-high temperature ceramics intended as novel target materials for isotope separation on-line (ISOL) facilities, aiming primarily at the production of medical radioisotopes. A feedstock of Ta4 AlC3 MAX phase powder, polyamide spheres and wax was used to obtain different porous TaCx grades with bimodal pore size distributions. The 'green' bodies underwent de-binding and vacuum annealing to decompose the MAX phase, whereas a reference material was also produced from commercial TaC powders. The thermal stability of the porous TaCx ceramics was assessed at ISOL-relevant conditions by heating in high vacuum up to 2200 °C. The MAX phase-derived TaCx porous ceramics evolved from biphasic TaCx /α-Ta2 C to single-phase TaCx at higher temperatures, due to carbon incorporation. The porous TaCx microstructure was stable at 2200 °C with a specific surface area stabilizing at ∼0.25 m 2 /g and thermal conductivity of 1−4 W/m K.