Cellulose acetate based gelcasting process for Gd-containing ceramic bodies

A new route of gelcasting is applied to prepare Gd2O3 and Gd2O2S as well as Al2O3 ceramic parts, i.e. thin plates and fibres. Cellulose acetate is used as monomer. Instead of a water-based solvent system, ethylenediamine as solvent is employed; therefore, moisture- and air-sensitive ceramic powders can be processed, such as Gd2O2S. The presented work focuses on the characterisation of the slurry by rheological and chemical measurements, the polymerisation process and the first results of the fabrication of ceramic bodies. Both green and sintered parts were investigated using electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and physisorption.