One-step additive manufacturing of melt-growth porous ceramics by laser directed energy deposition

Porous ceramics, as a new type of lightweight ceramic materials, have attracted much attention in recent decades due to their low thermal conductivity and high surface area, which are crucial for applications in aerospace and biomedicine. In this work, we report a novel approach for the one-step additive manufacturing of melt-growth Al2O3-ZrO2-SiCp porous ceramics using laser directed energy deposition (LDED). The fracture surfaces of as-fabricated specimens show obvious porous structures when SiCp content exceeds 50 wt%. The porosity and compressive strength of Al2O3-ZrO2-70 wt% SiCp (AZS70) specimens can reach 48 ± 4 % and 95 ± 5 MPa, respectively. In addition, the compressive strength of AZS70 is found to increase by a factor of 2–3 compared to the case of oxide porous ceramics with similar porosity prepared by other additive manufacturing technologies. Our approach may provide a valid option for achieving porous ceramics with excellent mechanical properties.