What are Advanced Ceramics?

Jump to: Properties | Examples | Comparison to other Materials | How are they Made? | Applications

Advanced ceramics are the next generation of ceramic materials. According to the 1993 Versailles project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) an advanced ceramic material is defined as "an inorganic, non-metallic, basically crystalline material of rigorously controlled composition and manufactured with detailed regulation from highly refined and/or characterized raw materials giving precisely specified attributes". These are a broad group of materials that are always comprised of more than one element, either totally ionic or a combination or covalent and ionic.

Whilst traditionally we think of ceramics as being made of clay and existing as porcelain and brick, advanced ceramics represent a new wave of durable materials. By definition ceramics are hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, non-metallic material. The advanced nature of these new ceramics involves molecular level of control over composition and resulting properties.

This new group of materials encompasses oxides, non-oxides and composite materials suitable for a range of applications due to their specific properties. An advantage of advanced ceramics is their ability to be tailored and engineered to access highly desirable properties for various applications.

Synonyms: Technical ceramics, high-tech ceramics, high-performance ceramics, engineering ceramics, fine ceramics

Properties of Advanced Ceramics

By definition, ceramic materials are considered brittle, meaning they tend to break or crumble under impact rather than deform like plastics. Despite this inherent brittleness, ceramics possess a wide range of tunable properties that can be tailored through careful control of their composition and microstructure.

Advanced ceramics are engineered for high-performance applications and are valued for their exceptional combination of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Some of their most attractive characteristics include:

Chemically inert (generally non-reactive)

Long life

High strength – under compressive load

High Durability

High Hardness

Refractoriness – resistance to thermal decomposition at extreme temperatures

High wear resistance

High Melting Points

Normally electrically/thermally insulating – can be semiconducting/conducting and superconducting

These properties make advanced ceramics suitable for use in fields such as electronics, aerospace, biomedical engineering, and energy technologies.

Examples of Advanced Ceramics

There are three main categories of advanced ceramics based on their material components, including:

Oxide Ceramics

Oxide ceramics comprise metal or metalloid elements chemically bonded with oxygen. Typical properties of oxide ceramics include:

High wear resistance

High melting points

Variety of electrical characteristics

High corrosion resistance

The high durability of metal-oxide ceramics arises from their chemical properties. Metal-oxides represents the maximum oxidation state that metal can reach in most chemical environments. Since oxides are already in a "fully oxidized" form (the highest oxidation state of the metal), they are thermodynamically stable and resistant to further degradation. This makes oxide ceramics ideal for extreme industrial environments involving heat, corrosion, wear, and reactivity.

Examples of Simple Oxide Ceramics

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles

From $120

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

From $75

Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Nanopowder

From $120

Magnesium Oxide Powder

From $150

Yttrium Oxide (Y₂O₃) Nanopowder

From $225

Simple oxide ceramics offer many interesting properties from photocatalytic activity to piezo- and pyroelectric behavior. To further enhance these properties oxide ceramics have been modified to create a new group of complex oxides. These are defined by chemical compounds that contain oxygen and at least two other elements. Not all complex oxides are classed as oxide ceramics. The material must be synthesized and processed with high precision and refinement, be used for high-performance or engineered applications and not be naturally occurring.

Examples of Complex Oxide Ceramics

Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (NCA) Powder

From $158

Lithium Titanium Oxide Powder

From $113

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LiCoO₂) Powder

From $150

Antimony Tin Oxide Nanopowder

From $158

Aluminum Zinc Oxide Powder

From $135

Complex oxide ceramics encompass a huge amount of materials including perovskites, spinels, pyrochlores, garnets and more. They exhibit a wide range of electronic, magnetic, optical and structural properties including:

• Ferroelectricity - spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field.
• Piezoelectricity - generates electric charge when mechanically deformed or deform in response to an electric field.
• High-temperature superconductivity - conduct electricity with zero electrical resistance at temperature above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.
• Ionic conductivity - conduct electric current via the movement of ions through its crystal lattice.
• Catalytic activity - facilitate or accelerate a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.

Non-oxide Ceramics

Non-oxide ceramics are defined by their elemental components and include carbides, nitrides, borides and silicides.

Carbide Ceramics

These are non-oxide ceramics made of metal or semi-metal elements bonded with carbon. They are among the hardest and most wear-resistant materials known. Examples of carbide ceramics include, silicon carbide (SiC), boron carbide (B₄C), titanium carbide (TiC), zirconium carbide (ZrC), tantalum carbide (TaC), and hafnium carbide (HfC).

Nitride Ceramics

Nitride ceramics are composed of nitrogen bonded to metals or semiconductors, offering high strength, thermal conductivity, and chemical resistance, especially at elevated temperatures. They are also lightweight and often used in demanding structural or electronic roles. Examples of nitride ceramics include, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), aluminum nitride (AlN), boron nitride (BN), and titanium nitride (TiN).

Boride Ceramics

Borides consist of boron combined with metals, forming ceramics known for their exceptional hardness, chemical inertness, and very high melting points. These materials are often used in high-temperature environments and wear-resistant applications. Examples of boride ceramics include, titanium diboride (TiB₂), zirconium diboride (ZrB₂), hafnium diboride (HfB₂), and lanthanum hexaboride (LaB₆).

Silicide Ceramics

Silicide ceramics are formed by combining silicon with transition metals, producing compounds with metallic conductivity, thermal stability, and oxidation resistance at high temperatures. They are ideal for extreme environments, especially in aerospace and energy systems. Examples of silicide ceramics include, molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂), tungsten disilicide (WSi₂), titanium silicide (TiSi₂), and niobium silicide (NbSi₂).

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs)

Ceramic matrix composites involve a ceramic matrix reinforced with high-strength ceramic filament, usually of a different type. Homogeneous, monolithic ceramics are brittle and are not always suited as structural engineering materials. One way to solve this problem is via these ceramic-ceramic composites. A ceramic matrix is reinforced with ceramic particles, platelets, whiskers, chopped or continuous fibres. They have been adopted into advanced material technology because of their light weight, high strength and toughness, high temperature capabilities, and reduced failure under loading. The design of the fiber-matrix interface assists the reduction of crack formation under load and prevents early failure.

Comparison to other Materials

The strengths of advanced ceramic materials are highlighted when compared to other materials. By considering some general material properties for advanced ceramics, metals and plastics we can see their where their advantages and disadvantages lie:

Property	Advanced Ceramics	Plastics	Metals
Typical Use Temperature (°C)	1200	250	1000
Maximum Use Temperature (°C)	2500	350	1500
Hardness	High	Low-medium	Medium-high
Flexibility	Low	High	Medium-high
Impact Resistance	Low	Medium-high	High
Corrosion Resistance	High	Medium	Low-medium
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion	Low	Medium	High
Electrical Properties	Insulative to Conductive	Insulative to Conductive (with fillers)	Conductive
Density	Medium	Low	High

How are Advanced Ceramics Made?

The production of advanced ceramics typically involves three key stages: batch preparation, consolidation, and firing/sintering. Each stage is crucial in determining the final properties and performance of the ceramic product.

Batch preparation of powdery raw materials – Control of chemical composition and particle size (and sometimes particle shape) is very important here.

Consolidation - The goal of consolidation is to shape the ceramic powder into a form suitable for sintering. Common methods include:

• Dry Pressing: Powders are mixed with organic binders and compacted using a steel die and punch under high pressure.
• Slip Casting: Fine powders are suspended in a liquid to form a viscous slip, which is poured into porous molds to form hollow parts.
• Tape Casting: The slip is cast onto a flat surface to form thin sheets, useful for electronic substrates.
• Gel Casting: A shaping method that uses gelling agents to solidify a ceramic slurry into a strong, stable form that can be safely handled before firing.
• Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP): Uses uniform pressure from all directions in a fluid medium to compact the powder.
• Hot Pressing: Combines heat and pressure to densify powders, typically used for components requiring high strength and density.

Firing/Sintering – Ceramics are high temperature materials and are not melt cast to generate the shape. The consolidated powders are heated via “sintering”. The fine particles form strong inter-atomic bond with the neighbouring particles to form mechanically strong ceramic products.

Advanced Ceramic Thin Film Fabrication

Ceramic thin film fabrication involves depositing layers of ceramic materials onto substrates for electronic, optical, or protective applications. Unlike bulk ceramics made by powder consolidation, thin films are produced using vapor-phase or solution-based techniques that allow precise control over composition, thickness, and crystal structure.

Common Fabrication Methods:

• Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) – Ultra-precise, atomic-level growth under vacuum, ideal for complex oxides and layered structures.
• Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) – Uses high-energy laser pulses to ablate ceramic targets and deposit films on heated substrates.
• Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) – Forms thin films from gaseous precursors through chemical reactions at the surface.
• Sol-Gel & Spin Coating – A wet-chemical approach that uses ceramic precursors in solution, followed by heat treatment.
• Sputtering (RF/DC Magnetron) – Bombards a ceramic target with ions to eject atoms and deposit them as a film.
  

Applications of Advanced Ceramics

One of the defining characteristics of advanced ceramics is their application in high-performance environments where exceptional mechanical strength, thermal stability, electrical functionality, or chemical resistance is required. Materials can be categorized based on their based on their features, including:

Structural Advanced Ceramics

Structural advanced ceramics are used in engineering applications where parts must withstand high mechanical stress, heat, friction, or chemical exposure. Their strength and durability make them especially valuable in the automotive and aerospace industries, where wear resistance is critical. They are also commonly used in cutting tools.

Functional Advanced Ceramics

Functional advanced ceramics have exhibit microstructural effects that occur within the bulk material, at grain boundaries, or on the surfaces of both conducting and non-conducting ceramics. These effects give rise to properties such as semiconductivity, varistor behavior, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, ferroelectricity, and superconductivity. Such properties make functional ceramics essential in a wide range of industries, including automotive systems, gas sensors, exhaust gas catalysts, fuel cells, and more.

Bioceramics

Bioceramic materials display biological inertness and remain stable in highly corrosive body environments. Materials such as hydroxyapatite are used in dentistry and orthopedics. It is a naturally occurring mineral form of calcium phosphate and is the main inorganic component of bone and teeth in humans and animals.

Ceramic coatings

Advanced ceramic coatings provide a multifunctional protective interface that enhances the durability and performance of components under extreme conditions. Their ability to be tailored for specific environments, from high-heat turbines to biocompatible implants, makes them indispensable in advanced engineering and technology sectors.

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