According to reports, objects such as wine glasses, missile heads, thermal barrier coatings on engine blades, auto parts, electronic and optical components are usually made of ceramics. Although the mechanical strength of the ceramic is very high, if it is not exposed to high temperature, it will suddenly break when pulled slightly under load. However, researchers at Purdue University have developed a new process that allows ceramics to overcome the fragile characteristics and make them more resilient and durable. Purdue University calls this process "flash sintering," which adds an electric field to the traditional sintering process to produce ceramic parts in large quantities.
The Purdue University School of Engineering has proved that even at room temperature, ceramics sintered by electric field will undergo plastic deformation (elasticity) under high strain compression. The study showed that applying an electric field during the formation of ceramics can make the material deform at room temperature almost like a metal. The Purdue University research team correctly applied its technology to titanium dioxide, a widely used white pigment.
Next, let us have a comprehensive understanding of titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide white stable or amphoteric powder oxide is a white inorganic pigment. With non-toxic, best opacity, best whiteness and brightness, it is considered to be the best white pigment in the world today. Titanium white has strong adhesion, is not easy to change chemically, and is always white. They are widely used in coatings, plastics, papermaking, printing inks, chemical fiber, rubber, cosmetics, and other industries. It has a high melting point and is also used to make refractory glass, glaze, enamel, clay, high-temperature resistant laboratory utensils, etc. Titanium dioxide has a good UV shielding effect and is often incorporated into textile fibers as a sunscreen. Ultrafine titanium dioxide powder is also added to sunscreen cream to make sunscreen cosmetics.
Titanium dioxide is an essential white pigment and porcelain glaze. They are used in paint, ink, plastic, rubber, papermaking, chemical fiber, watercolor paint, and other industries. The photochemical properties of semiconductor titanium dioxide have made it useful in many fields, such as the purification of air, water, and fluids. Photocatalysts doped with carbon or other heteroatoms can also be used in sealed spaces or areas with scattering light sources. When used in coatings on buildings, pedestrian slabs, concrete walls, or roof tiles, they can significantly increase the decomposition of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, aromatic hydrocarbons, and aldehydes. It is also widely used in the production of sunscreen, non-toxic, and harmless to the human body. Ultrafine titanium dioxide has excellent ultraviolet light shielding and transparency. It is commonly used in cosmetics, wood protection, food packaging plastics, durable household films, rayon and natural fibers, and transparent coatings. The unique optical effect in metallic flash coatings has made it valued and applied in high-grade car paints. Nano-titanium dioxide constitutes a photochemical medium, which is an air purification technology that can efficiently absorb and decompose harmful gases and can also sterilize and inhibit bacteria, prevent mildew and deodorize, and continuously produce negative oxygen ions to bring long-lasting freshness to occupants air.
Titanium dioxide can be extracted from rutile by acid decomposition, or from titanium tetrachloride. Titanium dioxide has stable properties and is widely used as a white pigment in paints. It has excellent hiding power and is similar to lead white, but unlike lead white, it will turn black; it has the same durability as zinc white. Titanium dioxide is also used as a matting agent for enamel, which can produce a very bright, hard, and acid-resistant enamel glaze finish.
The research team recently discovered that nano twins could be introduced into various metallic materials to improve their strength and flexibility. However, few studies have shown that nano twins and stacking faults can significantly enhance the plasticity of ceramics.
The flexibility of titanium dioxide at room temperature is significantly improved due to the occurrence of high-density defects such as stacking faults, twins, and dislocations during the flash firing process. The existence of such errors eliminates the need for nucleation of ceramic defects, and the nucleation of defects usually requires more substantial nucleation stress than the fracture stress of the ceramic.
In this study, a variety of different ceramics were used to open the door. Such new methods can make ceramics have greater flexibility and durability, can withstand heavy loads and high temperatures, and will not be fragile. The increased plasticity of the ceramic means that its mechanical strength will be higher at relatively low temperatures. Before the occurrence of cracks, the researchers' sample ceramics were able to withstand as much compressive stress as some metals.
Such ductile ceramics can be used in many vital applications, such as defense fortifications, automobile manufacturing, nuclear reactors, and sustainable energy equipment.
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