Current sintering methods used to obtain transparent ceramics face several challenges, including strict processing conditions and limited shape and size control. Researchers led by South China University of Technology presented a new general strategy for constructing dual-phase transparent ceramics from hybridized glasses that offers shape and size control as well as the potential for functionalization.
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Awareness of lead’s toxicity drives research on alternative lead-free piezoelectric materials. But traditional high-temperature sintering processes can inadvertently deteriorate a lead-free ceramic’s piezoelectric response. A two-step sintering process can minimize this deterioration, and researchers in China identified the optimum temperature and dwell time for the first step.
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Carbon nano-onions are a newer carbon nanostructure with great potential in application, but synthesizing these materials conventionally requires high temperatures, expensive feedstock, or corrosive environments. Researchers at Nagoya Institute of Technology used a one-step microwave pyrolysis process to turn fish scales into carbon nano-onions with highly crystalline and functionalized structures.
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In the past decade, computational research has dominated over experimental studies of boron nanomaterials. A recent open-access paper contributes a new addition to the experimental literature by demonstrating that double-pulse laser ablation can be used to synthesize boron nanorods, nanowires, and nanotubes.
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Additive manufacturing offers a potentially easier way to fabricate cemented carbide parts. In a recent paper, researchers from Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. in Pennsylvania explored whether ensuring a uniform grain size in the 3D-printed part will improve its properties.
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In 2020, researchers led by the University of Maryland developed an ultrafast high-temperature sintering method to achieve rapid, pressureless sintering of ceramics. Now, they and colleagues from Alfred University and the University of California, San Diego used this method to fabricate high-quality silica glass.
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Digital light processing is one of the most promising additive manufacturing technologies for preparing ceramic scaffolds with complicated fine features. Three recent studies by several groups in China explore the use of this technique to fabricate bioceramic scaffolds for medical applications.
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Storing data generated by sophisticated microscopy instruments is quite easy, but accessing, interpreting, and acting on the terabytes of data is challenging. Two recent papers offer interesting approaches to interacting with electron microscopes and the data they produce.
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Mining rare earth ores is only the first step in securing the rare earths supply chain. These ores must undergo refining processes, and China controls nearly all of the world’s rare earth processing facilities. Two U.S. mining companies, MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, plan to open domestic rare earth processing facilities within the next year.
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When drying ceramics, many characteristics affect how the material will respond to moisture loss and contraction. Researchers in Brazil found that the drying sensitivity coefficient is a determining factor associated with loss content.
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