An improved technique has been developed for the successful fabrication of reticulate porous ceramics (RPCs) with strong struts, using polyurethane sponge as the template. In this technique, the coating process is composed of two stages. In the first stage, a thicker slurry is used to coat the sponge substrate uniformly. The green body is preheated to produce a reticulated preform with sufficient handling strength after the sponge has been burned out. In the second stage, a thinner slurry is used to coat the preform repeatedly, so that that struts are greatly thickened. Furthermore, large flaws, such as longitudinal strut cracks, are eliminated by the recoating process. The mechanical properties of RPCs should be improved significantly by this technique, which will make this material conducive for use in new technological applications.

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