Capillary-driven debinding for accelerated binder removal in ceramics

Abstract

Ceramic materials are essential in aerospace, medical, automotive, energy, and semiconductor industries due to their exceptional mechanical, optical, electrical, and thermal properties. However, their fabrication is often time-consuming, particularly in binder-based systems where binder removal is a critical bottleneck. In this study, we explored strategies to accelerate the debinding process using additive manufacturing (AM) by tailoring particle size distribution to induce a capillary gradient from the core to the surface. Two microscale models with distinct particle arrangements were studied: Random and Gradient. The results show that the Gradient model debound 1.3× faster than the Random model due to enhanced capillary-driven binder transport. Particle motion affected binder migration pathways, increasing their tortuosity compared to models without particle movement. These findings demonstrate the role of spatially tailored particle distributions in meaningfully accelerating binder removal while expanding design possibilities for more complex, high-performance architectures in ceramic AM.