Preparation of feedstock containing water-soluble binder for powder injection moulding of silver

Abstract

Feedstock for powder injection moulding of silver was prepared using water-soluble binder composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinyl butyrol (PVB). Silver powders with particle size in range of 1 μm to 20 μm can be mixed with PEG/PVB binder system to form feedstocks having powder loadings of 42 vol% and 45 vol%. PEG can be removed using water leaching method while PVB can be removed by thermal debinding. Specimens retained their shapes during debinding and after debinding. Components fabricated with relatively higher powder loading resulted in higher density with lower porosity. Density of specimens containing powder loading of 42 vol% and 45 vol% and heated at 700℃ is about 43% and 46% of the theoretical value, respectively. Therefore, it can be further developed for porous materials applications.