Honeycomb structure, porous body, pore forming material for the porous body, and methods for manufacturing the pore forming material, the porous body and the honeycomb structure

A porous body produced by the process comprising the steps of:

• preparing a plurality of pore forming particles comprising an organic polymer and a plurality of inorganic particles, the inorganic particles comprising at least one inorganic material selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic, an oxide ceramic, a metal and a metal compound;
• forming a mixture of a plurality of skeleton particles and the plurality of pore forming particles, the skeleton particles comprising a ceramic selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic and an oxide ceramic, the ceramic of the skeleton particles being different from the inorganic compound of the inorganic compound components;
• forming the mixture into a molded body;
• and
• firing the molded body in a temperature range sufficiently high for a sufficient duration such that skeleton particles directly bind with each other and form inner surfaces and void spaces and that the inorganic particles of the pore forming particles form a plurality of inorganic compound components present on the inner surfaces formed by the skeleton particles directly bound with each other.

A honeycomb structure comprising:

• a porous ceramic body having a plurality of through holes extending in parallel in a longitudinal direction of the porous ceramic body and a plurality of partitions separating the through holes from each other,
• wherein the porous ceramic body is produced by calcining a molded body comprising a mixture including a plurality of skeleton particles and a plurality of pore forming particles comprising an organic polymer and a plurality of inorganic particles, the molded body is calcined in a temperature range sufficiently high for a sufficient duration such that the skeleton particles directly bind with each other and form inner surfaces and void spaces and that the inorganic particles of the pore forming particles form a plurality of inorganic compound components present on the inner surfaces formed by the skeleton particles directly bound with each other and comprising an inorganic compound, each of the skeleton particles comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic and an oxide ceramic, the plurality of inorganic particles comprises at least one inorganic material selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic, an oxide ceramic, a metal and a metal compound, and the ceramic of the skeleton particles is different from the inorganic compound of the inorganic compound components.

A honeycomb structure produced by the process comprising the steps of:

• preparing a plurality of pore forming particles comprising an organic polymer and a plurality of inorganic particles, the inorganic particles comprising at least one inorganic material selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic, an oxide ceramic, a metal and a metal compound;
• forming a mixture of a plurality of skeleton particles and the plurality of pore forming particles, the skeleton particles comprising a ceramic selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic and an oxide ceramic, the ceramic of the skeleton particles being different from the inorganic compound of the inorganic compound components;
• forming a molded body from the mixture;
• and
• firing the molded body in a temperature range sufficiently high for a sufficient duration such that skeleton particles directly bind with each other and form inner surfaces and void spaces and that the inorganic particles of the pore forming particles form a plurality of inorganic compound components present on the inner surfaces formed by the skeleton particles directly bound with each other.

A honeycomb structure comprising:

• a porous ceramic body having a plurality of through holes extending in parallel in a longitudinal direction of the porous ceramic body and a plurality of partitions separating the through holes from each other,
• wherein the porous ceramic body is produced by calcining a molded body comprising a mixture including a plurality of skeleton particles, a binding substance for binding the skeleton particles, and a plurality of pore forming particles comprising an organic polymer and a plurality of inorganic particles, the molded body is calcined in a temperature range sufficiently high for a sufficient duration such that the skeleton particles directly bind with each other and form inner surfaces and void spaces and that the inorganic particles of the pore forming particles form a plurality of inorganic compound components present on the inner surfaces formed by the skeleton particles directly bound with each other and comprising an inorganic compound, each of the skeleton particles comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic and an oxide ceramic, the plurality of inorganic particles comprises at least one inorganic material selected from the group consisting of a nitride ceramic, a carbide ceramic, an oxide ceramic, a metal and a metal compound, and the ceramic of the skeleton particles is different from the inorganic compound of the inorganic compound components.