The effect of surfactants on the performances of ceramic slurry by material extrusion and photo-polymerization combined molding process

Alumina ceramic slurry with large solid content and small viscosity could be used in the additive manufacturing process of material extrusion (MEX) and photo-polymerization (PPM). Alumina ceramics powder and 1,6-Hexanediol diacrylate were adopted as prepolymer monomer for ceramic slurry, and typical surfactants such as polyvinylpyrrolidone K10, polyvinylpyrrolidone K15 and oleic acid (OA) were adopted to modify alumina ceramic particles, and then rheological properties of the slurry and formality of built parts were deeply evaluated. The results showed that slurry with OA with the concentration of 0.15 wt % presented better comprehensive properties than the other surfactants, and the viscosity of the slurry with 81 wt % alumina modified by 0.15 wt % OA was 8.88 Pa·s under shear rate 30 s−1, and the slurry had been successfully applied for ceramic green body molding by the MEX-PPM method, and the deformation rate was 0.25 %, while the volume density of ceramic sintered body was 3.78 g/cm3. In conclusion, the use of suitable surfactant modification can improve the mechanical properties of the material and expand the scope of application.