Electrophoretic forming of ceramics in aqueous media

Electrophoretic deposition is a particularly easy forming technique in which coatings onto conducting electrodes are obtained after applying a de electric field to a colloidal suspension or solution. Most organic materials and minerals can be deposited, being the biggest difficulty the selection of the organic vehicle and the adjustment of the experimental conditions. In wet forming processes, the success is determined by the preparation of stable suspensions with the required electrical properties. In this sense, the use of organics presents important advantages, since avoid electrolityc processes in the vicinity of electrodes, which highly affect the homogeneity and contamination of the coating. However, the use of organics increases the costs of a process characterized for its economical and environmental advantages. This is the reason why aqueous electrophoresis is receiving an increasing attention due to the great possibilities to be considered for production cycles for a broad variety of materials, as already occurs in the case of clays and enamels. In this work, a review of the physical chemistry of the process is made, and possible applications in ceramics and glasses manufacturing are evaluated.