Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Binder Removal During Ceramic Processing: PMMA/Cordierite as a Prototype System

Abstract

As the performance requirements of ceramic components are refined, the demands placed on the materials used in their processing also become more stringent. For example, in advanced ceramic packaging applications, it is increasingly important that the organic polymers used as binders be capable of degradation and removal at low temperatures and in non-oxidizing atmospheres. This paper examines the chemistry that can occur during two fundamental stages of the binder removal process, (1) the breakdown of the C-C backbone of the polymer during pyrolysis, and (2) the interaction of the small molecules that are produced during pyrolysis with ceramic surfaces. The work has focused on acrylate and methacrylate systems, both because this is an important family of polymers for applications in tape casting, and because there is a relatively extensive literature on their pyrolysis chemistry.