Ceramic material production, useful in free-form fabrication, comprises mixing a gel or paste formed from a calcium compound and an acid phosphate ester with a crystalline material and sintering the mixture

摘要

Producing a sintered ceramic material comprises dissolving a calcium compound and optionally other metal compounds in a solvent, removing water from the solution, reacting the resulting sol with an acid phosphate ester, optionally in the presence hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid, converting the sol to a paste or dry gel, mixing the product (1-20 wt.% dry basis) with a comminuted fused crystalline material in solid or paste form with a particle size of 0.1-5 mu m and sintering the mixture at 900-1,400[deg]C. Producing a sintered ceramic material comprises: (a) dissolving a calcium compound and optionally other metal compounds in a solvent; (b) removing water from the solution; (c) reacting the resulting sol with an acid phosphate ester of formula (Ia) or (Ib); (d) optionally in the presence of hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid, converting the sol to a paste or dry gel; (e) mixing the product (1-20 wt.% dry basis) with a comminuted fused crystalline material in solid or paste form with a particle size of 0.1-5 mu m; and (f) sintering the mixture at 900-1,400[deg]C. (RO)P(O)(OH)2 (Ia) (RO)2P(O)(OH) (Ib) R = 1-15C alkyl or aryl optionally substituted with OH and/or halo. Independent claims are also included for: (1) sintered ceramic material produced as above; and (2) intermediate product for producing a sintered ceramic material comprising a paste or dry gel produced as above, where the BET surface area of the gel is 20-300 m2>/g.