Vat Photopolymerization of Sepiolite Fiber and 316L Stainless Steel-Reinforced Alumina with Functionally Graded...

Alumina (Al₂O₃) ceramics are widely used in electronics, machinery, healthcare, and other fields due to their excellent hardness and high temperature stability. However, their high brittleness limits further applications, such as artificial ceramic implants and highly flexible protective gear. To address the limitations of single-phase toughening in Al₂O₃ ceramics, some researchers have introduced a second phase to enhance these ceramics. However, introducing a single phase still limits the range of performance improvement. Therefore, this study explores the printing of Al₂O₃ ceramics by adding two different phases. Additionally, a new gradient printing technique is proposed to overcome the limitations of single material homogeneity, such as uniform performance and the presence of large residual stresses. Unlike traditional vat photopolymerization printing technology, this study stands out by generating green bodies with varying second-phase particle ratios across different layers. This study investigated the effects of different contents of sepiolite fiber (SF) and 316L stainless steel (SS) on various aspects of microstructure, phase composition, physical properties, and mechanical properties of gradient-printed Al₂O₃. The experimental results demonstrate that compared to Al₂O₃ parts without added SF and 316L SS, the inclusion of these materials can significantly reduce porosity and water absorption, resulting in a denser structure. In addition, the substantial improvements, with an increase of 394.4% in flexural strength and an increase of 316.7% in toughness, of the Al₂O₃ components enhanced by incorporating SF and 316L SS have been obtained.