Dense ceramic sheets with thickness range between 10 µm and 1 mm can be obtained through tape casting that is a low cost ceramic forming technique. The critical step of this forming process is the preparation of suspension with high solid content, 30 weight %, and also high content of organic additives like as binder and plasticizer. Among the several ceramics products that can be produced through tape casting, electronic substrates and planar electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) stand out because of high consumption and the aggregate value, respectively. In this work the appropriated amount of additives for alumina and yttria stabilized zirconia (8 and 10 mol%) suspensions was determined through the rheological behavior. Although the raw materials possess similar average particle size it was found that specific amount of organics additives is required for each suspension for developing pseudoplastic behavior. Sheets prepared through tape casting were analyzed before and after sintering. The results show that the density, grain size, and pores distribution are sensitive to the binder amount. The sheet grain size is smaller than that one developed in ceramic body prepared through pressing and, consequently, smaller is the incidence of intragrains pores.
tape casting; zirconia; alumina; SOFC; substrates
