Empa researches polycrystalline ceramics

(CONNECT) Researchers at the Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf are investigating the nanostructures of sintered, polycrystalline ceramics. According to a press release, the findings of these investigations will be used to produce new ceramics that can be used in various areas, from mechanical engineering to medicine.

Ceramics are created by sintering fine mineral grains. At the points where the grains of different materials meet, interfaces of nanometric size appear. These interfaces are particularly interesting for materials science. Defects can occur on them or they can generate special effects.

"In the past, bicrystals were produced and examined, i.e. just two grains together," group leader Michael Stuer is quoted as saying in the press release. "We now want to see to what extent the findings from these basic studies can be applied to polycrystalline materials as they are used in the real world." In order to bring a systematic approach to the investigations, the researchers use ceramics based on the already well-known aluminum oxide. This allows you to focus on little-known influences of the grain interfaces. The researchers are also investigating how doping with rare earths affects the grain boundaries. "Targeted manipulation of the grain boundaries could be used to control the mechanical and optical properties of ceramics, for example," says Stuer. The results could be used for new applications in optics, microelectronics and medicine. ce/ww