Synthesis of cellular silica structure under microchannel confinement

Haibiao Chen, W. Y. Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

A silica cellular structure was synthesized as a novel means of enhancing the geometrical surface area of a silicon microchannel with cell diameter of ∼10 μm and cell interconnectivity of ∼0.4. Surface-selective infiltration, assembly, and partial sintering of polystyrene microspheres in the microchannel were used as mechanisms to create a sacrificial template. The polymer template was infiltrated with a silica precursor, and the infiltrated structure was dried and calcined at 500°C to remove the polymer phase and subsequently sintered at 1100°C to form dense silica skeleton. Volume shrinkage and crack formation during calcining and sintering of the infiltrated silica structure were strongly influenced by silica particle size in the precursor. In comparison with free-standing cellular specimens prepared by similar template methods, the shrinkage and cracking issues offered an interesting challenge for synthesizing the cellular structure which could be net-shaped into the spatial confinement of the microchannel geometry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)36-43
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the American Ceramic Society
Volume90
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2007

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