Highly porous zirconia ceramics for prospective use as separators in alkaline electrolysis cells have been processed by emulsification of paraffin in concentrated zirconia suspensions. Effects of processing parameters on porosity, cell size distribution, and pore interconnectivity are studied through Taguchi statistical design. The porosity of zirconia ceramics has shown a strong correlation with paraffin-to-suspension ratio employed in emulsification. High paraffin-to-suspension ratios combined with high gelatin content in the emulsion are beneficial for creating highly porous cellular materials with interconnected cell sizes. The attained microstructural features allow high percolation of ionic species in these highly porous ceramics after impregnation with aqueous electrolytes, facilitating charge transport within the liquid medium inside the ceramic bodies, as required for lower ohmic losses. This work provides guidelines for developing efficient ceramic separators for future use in alkaline electrolysis cells and other applications requiring thermally and chemically-stable ceramics with high and well-interconnected porosity.

通过在浓缩的氧化锆悬浮液中乳化石蜡，可以加工出高度多孔的氧化锆陶瓷，有望用作碱性电解槽的隔膜。通过田口统计设计研究了工艺参数对孔隙率，孔尺寸分布和孔互连性的影响。氧化锆陶瓷的孔隙率已显示出与乳化中使用的石蜡与悬浮液的比例密切相关。高石蜡与悬浮液的比例以及乳胶中高明胶含量有利于产生具有相互连接的泡孔尺寸的高度多孔的泡孔材料。所获得的微观结构特征使这些高度多孔的陶瓷在浸入水性电解质后能够高度渗透离子，根据较低的欧姆损耗，可促进陶瓷体内液体介质内的电荷传输。这项工作为开发有效的陶瓷隔板提供了指导方针，以便将来用于碱性电解槽以及需要具有高且良好互连的孔隙率的热和化学稳定陶瓷的其他应用。