Tan Xuehui， Lu Shuyu， Lei Wenjie， Miao Jiatao， Liu Jingcheng

School of Chemical and Material Engineering， Jiangnan University， Wuxi 214122， China

Abstract

Objective Traditional preparation methods for porous alumina ceramics have limitations in structural complexity and forming accuracy， making it difficult to meet the requirements of customized applications. This study aims to prepare porous alumina ceramics using UV-curable 3D printing technology， and to reveal the structure–property relationship between process parameters and ceramic structural performance by optimizing the slurry formulation and sintering process.

Methods Itaconic acid （IA） and glycidyl methacrylate （GMA） were used as raw materials. In the presence of the catalyst triphenylphosphine and the inhibitor hydroquinone， itaconic acid-glycidyl methacrylate （IA-GMA） was synthesized as a polar photosensitive resin matrix via the ring-opening addition reaction between carboxyl and epoxy groups. This resin was then mixed with 1，6-hexanediol diacrylate （HDDA） at a 1：1 ratio as the photosensitive resin matrix. Dispersants and photoinitiators were added to prepare the ceramic slurry. Meanwhile， polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） microspheres were introduced as a pore-forming agent to pyrolyze and form microscopic pores. Digital light processing （DLP） 3D printing technology was used to construct an apparent porous structure， achieving the synergistic construction of macroscopic and microscopic pores. The rheological properties and stability of the slurry were evaluated using a rotational rheometer and a static sedimentation method. The microstructure and phase composition were observed with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The porosity and mechanical strength were quantitatively analyzed using the Archimedes drainage method and the three-point flexural test. The effects of the solid content， type and amount of dispersants and photoinitiators， sintering temperature， as well as pore size and content of pore-forming agent on the ceramic properties were systematically investigated.

Results and Discussion Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the successful synthesis of IA-GMA. The prepared polar IA-GMA/HDDA slurry exhibited better dispersion stability and rheological properties compared to the non-polar 3EO-TMPTA/HDDA slurry， which was attributed to the hydrogen bonding between IA-GMA and the hydroxyl groups on the surface of alumina particles. In the dispersant screening， KOS110 exhibited the best viscosity-reducing and anti-settling effects due to the dual mechanism of electrostatic repulsion from dissociation of acidic groups and steric hindrance from the polymer backbone. However， when the addition amount exceeded 2 wt%， the entanglement of free molecular chains led to a viscosity rebound. Rheological tests showed that at a solid content of 80 wt%， the slurry exhibited both good fluidity and high solid phase. At 85 wt%， an exponential increase in viscosity occurred due to the restricted space for particle movement. Comparison of photoinitiators revealed that 819 had a wider absorption range at a wavelength of 405 nm. At a concentration of 0.15 wt%， the generation and termination of free radicals reached a dynamic equilibrium， resulting in optimal curing performance. The sintering process study showed that when the temperature increased to 1 600 °C， the particles were closely bonded and the grains grew uniformly， achieving the best densification and grain boundary bonding strength. After introducing PMMA as a pore-forming agent， the microstructure exhibited a hierarchical structure consisting of macropores formed by pyrolysis of the microspheres and micropores formed by particle packing. As the PMMA content increased from 5 wt% to 20 wt%， the open porosity of the ceramics significantly increased from 38.62% to 61.27%， while the bending strength correspondingly decreased from 14.9 MPa to 5.47 MPa， consistent with the negative correlation between porosity and strength in porous materials.

Conclusion This study successfully constructs a UV-curable ceramic slurry system based on a polar resin， which solves the agglomeration problem of alumina particles in traditional resins. By incorporating a pore-forming agent and using DLP 3D printing technology， the synergistic construction of microscopic pores and apparent porous structure is achieved. The resulting porous alumina ceramics exhibit good tunability between porosity and mechanical properties， providing a new material design and preparation approach for their applications in fields such as catalysis and wastewater treatment.

Keywords： itaconic acid-based acrylate； porous ceramics； pore-forming agent； UV-curable 3D printing

Get Citation:Tan Xuehui， Lu Shuyu， Lei Wenjie， et al. Preparation and properties of porous alumina ceramics by UV-curable 3D printing［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2026， 32（5）： 1-13.

Received：2026-01-26， Revised： 2026-05-03，Online： 2026-08-26。

Funding： The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22105204).

CLC No.：TB44；TQ174

Type Code：A

Serial No.：1008-5548（2026）05-0001-13