Extrusion method using nylon 66 fibers for the preparation of porous alumina ceramics with oriented pores

Porous alumina ceramics with unidirectionally oriented pores were prepared using an extrusion method. The paste for extrusion was prepared by mixing alumina and nylon 66 fibers with binder and dispersant. The resulting paste was extruded, dried at room temperature, and after removal of the binder at 600 °C, fired at 1500 °C for 2 h. The pore size in the sintered body, determined from SEM micrographs, was 16 μm, corresponding to the size of the burnt-out nylon 66 fibers. The degree of orientation of the cylindrical pores was evaluated from SEM micrographs to be highly aligned to the extrusion direction. The orientation of the pores decreased with increasing fiber loading because of strong interaction between the fibers. The pore size distribution of the extruded samples showed a peak at 16 μm corresponding to the cylindrical pore diameter and also at 4 and 6 μm corresponding to the pores formed by connection of the fibers.