Abstract: An improved porous article and a method for forming such porous article are provided. A mixture of ceramic or articles and pliable organic hollow spheres is prepared in a liquid typically as a suspension. The article is formed by pressing, slip casting, extruding or injection molding the mixture. The article is dried to remove the liquid, and then is fired so that the particles are bonded such as by sintering, and the organic spheres are eliminated, resulting in a strong porous article having uniformly spaced interconnected voids.

Abstract: An improved porous article and a method for forming such porous article are provided. A mixture of ceramic or metal particles and pliable organic hollow spheres is prepared in a liquid, typically as a suspension. The article is formed by pressing, slip casting, extruding or injection molding the mixture. The article is dried to remove the liquid, and then is fired so that the particles are bonded such as by sintering, and the organic spheres are eliminated, resulting in a strong porous article having uniformly spaced interconnected voids.

Abstract: A method of co-forming a metal article comprising forming a powdered metal component from a first powdered metal composition, providing a polymeric foam, coating the polymeric foam with a second powdered metal composition to form a coated polymeric foam, placing the coated polymeric foam in contact with the powdered metal component to form a composite, and heat-treating the composite to volatilize the polymeric foam and to solidify the powdered metal component. The powdered metal composition of the powdered metal component can be the same or different than the powdered metal composition used to coat the polymeric foam. The resulting co-formed metal article can be in a variety of configurations including, but not limited to, metal foam on the inside or outside surfaces of a metal tube and metal foam on one or more faces of a metal plate.

Abstract: An improved porous article and a method for forming such porous article are provided. A mixture of ceramic or metal particles and pliable organic hollow spheres is prepared in a liquid, typically as a suspension. The article is formed by pressing, slip casting, extruding or injection molding the mixture. The article is dried to remove the liquid, and then is fired so that the particles are bonded such as by sintering, and the organic spheres are eliminated, resulting in a strong porous article having uniformly spaced interconnected voids.

Abstract: A method of co-forming a metal article comprising forming a powdered metal component from a first powdered metal composition, providing a polymeric foam, coating the polymeric foam with a second powdered metal composition to form a coated polymeric foam, placing the coated polymeric foam in contact with the powdered metal component to form a composite, and heat-treating the composite to volatilize the polymeric foam and to solidify the powdered metal component. The powdered metal composition of the powdered metal component can be the same or different than the powdered metal composition used to coat the polymeric foam. The resulting co-formed metal article can be in a variety of configurations including, but not limited to, metal foam on the inside or outside surfaces of a metal tube and metal foam on one or more faces of a metal plate.

Abstract: An improved porous article and a method for forming such porous article are provided. A mixture of ceramic or metal particles and pliable organic hollow spheres is prepared in a liquid, typically as a suspension. The article is formed by pressing, slip casting, extruding or injection molding the mixture. The article is dried to remove the liquid, and then is fired so that the particles are bonded such as by sintering, and the organic spheres are eliminated, resulting in a strong porous article having uniformly spaced interconnected voids.

Abstract: In a method of carrying out organic conversions via heterogeneous phase transfer catalysis by contacting immiscible liquid phases containing respective substances capable of interacting, with a solid catalyst to promote the transfer of reactive species from one liquid phase to another, the improvement comprises employing as catalyst a cation exchanged form of a 2:1 layered silicate clay with layer charge densities in the range of above 0.4 to 2.0 containing an onium ion containing one or more alkyl hydrocarbon chains and maintaining the materials in emulsified form by having a sufficient chain length of an alkyl group relative to the charge density of the clay.