Silica ceramics have attracted much attention due to their excellent mechanical properties, as well as potential applications in different industrial fields. At present, the research on how to improve silica ceramics has been very extensive, with a special focus on thermal for porous components. Therefore, it is useful to find a universally applicable method to improve the mechanical properties of high porosity silica ceramics. In this study, vacuum impregnation technology was used to modify 3D printed silica ceramics, and the effects of two yttrium-containing solutions (Y(NO₃)₃ and YCl₃) with different contents on the properties of DLP printed silica ceramics were studied. It was found that NO₃^- present in the Y(NO₃)₃ solution is harmless to silica ceramics, while the presence of Cl^- in YCl₃ solution will lead to defects. Therefore, 0.030 mol/L Y(NO₃)₃ solution was the best choice for vacuum impregnation of silica ceramics, providing the best microstructure and mechanical properties. In particular, the open porosity of the samples was 26.35 ± 0.13 vol%, the linear shrinkage 4.59 ± 0.15%, the bulk density 1.592 ± 0.006 g/cm³, and the flexural strength at room temperature 4.51 ± 0.15 MPa, making the 3D printed parts of interest as casting cores for turbine blades.

Keywords: Silica ceramics, Yttrium, Vacuum impregnation, 3D printing, Porous ceramics.

This work was sponsored by Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2023D01C192), the Xinjiang Tianchi Talent Introduction Plan (51052300585), and the Fundamental Research Funds for Autonomous Region Universities (XJEDU2022P002).

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.