Functionally graded ceramic/ceramic and metal/ceramic composites by electrophoretic deposition

Constant current electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has been used to synthesise Al2O3/YSZ, Al2O3/MoSi2, Al2O3/Ni and YSZ/Ni functionally graded materials (FGM). EPD is a cheap and simple technique to fabricate complicated ceramic shapes. By this technique it is possible to synthesize step FGMs as well as continuous-profile FGMs. The profile can be controlled precisely by controlling the deposition current density, second component flow rate, suspension concentration, etc. The microstructures of the FGMs produced were characterized by optical and electron microcopy and micro-indentation was used to track the Vicker's hardness and fracture toughness variation across the composition profiles. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited.