3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties

Cellular ceramic structures (CCSs) are promising candidates for structural components because of their low density and superior load-bearing capacity. However, the brittleness and poor energy-absorbing ability of CCSs severely limit their applications. Inspired by composites in natural materials, wh...

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Main Authors: Xueqin Zhang, Ruyue Su, Xiong Gao, Jingyi Chen, Rujie He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tsinghua University Press 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Advanced Ceramics
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Online Access:https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221095
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author Xueqin Zhang
Ruyue Su
Xiong Gao
Jingyi Chen
Rujie He
author_facet Xueqin Zhang
Ruyue Su
Xiong Gao
Jingyi Chen
Rujie He
author_sort Xueqin Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Cellular ceramic structures (CCSs) are promising candidates for structural components because of their low density and superior load-bearing capacity. However, the brittleness and poor energy-absorbing ability of CCSs severely limit their applications. Inspired by composites in natural materials, whose stiff and tough constituents are arranged in a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture, we proposed a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture to achieve superior strength and toughness of CCSs simultaneously. Polyurea-toughened Al2O3 CCSs (P/CCSs) were fabricated via three-dimensional (3D) printing and infiltration. The effects of the structural configuration and relative density on the mechanical properties of P/CCSs under quasi-static and dynamic compressive loading were systematically discussed. It was demonstrated that polyurea effectively improved the mechanical properties of CCSs. The load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability of P/CCSs under quasi-static compressive loading were 1.22–3.64 and 57–519 times those of CCSs. Additionally, the dynamic compressive strength and energy absorption of P/CCSs were 1.07–1.85 and 3.31–10.94 times those of CCSs. Furthermore, owing to the incorporation of polyurea, P/CCSs maintained structural integrity under large deformation, rather than undergoing catastrophic fracture. This work provides an effective solution to mitigate the adverse effects of ceramic brittleness, rendering P/CCSs promising candidates for structural components that require superior load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability simultaneously.
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spelling doaj-art-1b2de96edd3e4180956fcebe8dca1c4f2025-08-20T03:16:07ZengTsinghua University PressJournal of Advanced Ceramics2226-41082227-85082025-06-01146922109510.26599/JAC.2025.92210953D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical propertiesXueqin Zhang0Ruyue Su1Xiong Gao2Jingyi Chen3Rujie He4College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaInstitute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaCellular ceramic structures (CCSs) are promising candidates for structural components because of their low density and superior load-bearing capacity. However, the brittleness and poor energy-absorbing ability of CCSs severely limit their applications. Inspired by composites in natural materials, whose stiff and tough constituents are arranged in a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture, we proposed a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture to achieve superior strength and toughness of CCSs simultaneously. Polyurea-toughened Al2O3 CCSs (P/CCSs) were fabricated via three-dimensional (3D) printing and infiltration. The effects of the structural configuration and relative density on the mechanical properties of P/CCSs under quasi-static and dynamic compressive loading were systematically discussed. It was demonstrated that polyurea effectively improved the mechanical properties of CCSs. The load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability of P/CCSs under quasi-static compressive loading were 1.22–3.64 and 57–519 times those of CCSs. Additionally, the dynamic compressive strength and energy absorption of P/CCSs were 1.07–1.85 and 3.31–10.94 times those of CCSs. Furthermore, owing to the incorporation of polyurea, P/CCSs maintained structural integrity under large deformation, rather than undergoing catastrophic fracture. This work provides an effective solution to mitigate the adverse effects of ceramic brittleness, rendering P/CCSs promising candidates for structural components that require superior load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability simultaneously.https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221095bioinspired polyurea-toughened al2o3 cellular ceramic structures (p/ccss)compressive strengthenergy absorptiondeformationthree-dimensional (3d) printing
spellingShingle Xueqin Zhang
Ruyue Su
Xiong Gao
Jingyi Chen
Rujie He
3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
Journal of Advanced Ceramics
bioinspired polyurea-toughened al2o3 cellular ceramic structures (p/ccss)
compressive strength
energy absorption
deformation
three-dimensional (3d) printing
title 3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
title_full 3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
title_fullStr 3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
title_full_unstemmed 3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
title_short 3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
title_sort 3d printed polyurea toughened al2o3 cellular ceramic structures bioinspired dual phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
topic bioinspired polyurea-toughened al2o3 cellular ceramic structures (p/ccss)
compressive strength
energy absorption
deformation
three-dimensional (3d) printing
url https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221095
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