Spray roasting involves spray atomization of solutions of water-soluble salts into a heated chamber. The temperature and transit time are adjusted so as to accomplish rapid evaporation and oxidation. The result is a high-purity powder with fine particle size. A modification of spray roasting, known as rapid thermal decomposition of solutions (RTDS), can yield nano-size oxide powders—that is, particles measured in nanometres (one-billionth of a metre).

The sol-gel route

An increasingly popular method for producing ceramic powders is sol-gel processing. Stable dispersions, or sols, of small particles (less than 0.1 micrometre) are formed from precursor chemicals such as metal alkoxides or other metalorganics. By partial evaporation of the liquid or addition of a suitable initiator, a polymer-like, three-dimensional bonding takes place within the sol to form a gelatinous network, or gel. The gel can then be dehydrated and calcined to obtain a fine, intimately mixed ceramic powder.

The Pechini process

A process related to the sol-gel route is the Pechini, or liquid mix, process (named after its American inventor, Maggio Pechini). An aqueous solution of suitable oxides or salts is mixed with an alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acid such as citric acid. Chelation, or the formation of complex ring-shaped compounds around the metal cations, takes place in the solution. A polyhydroxy alcohol is then added, and the liquid is heated to 150–250 °C (300–480 °F) to allow the chelates to polymerize, or form large, cross-linked networks. As excess water is removed by heating, a solid polymeric resin results. Eventually, at still higher temperatures of 500–900 °C (930–1,650 °F), the resin is decomposed or charred, and ultimately a mixed oxide is obtained. Particle size is extremely small, typically 20 to 50 nanometres (although there is agglomeration of these particles into larger clusters), with intimate mixing taking place on the atomic scale.

Combustion synthesis

A modification of the Pechini process is combustion synthesis. One version of this process involves a reaction between nitrate solutions and the amino acid glycine. The glycine, in addition to complexing with the metal cations and increasing their solubility, serves as a fuel during charring. After much of the water has been evaporated, a viscous liquid forms that autoignites around 150–200 °C (300–400 °F). Combustion temperatures rapidly exceed 1,000 °C (1,800 °F) and convert the material to fine, intimately mixed, and relatively nonagglomerated crystallites of the complex oxide desired. This technique is referred to as the glycine-nitrate process.

High-temperature synthesis

In a reaction known as self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), highly reactive metal particles ignite in contact with boron, carbon, nitrogen, and silica to form boride, carbide, nitride, and silicide ceramics. Since the reactions are extremely exothermic (heat-producing), the reaction fronts propagate rapidly through the precursor powders. Usually, the ultimate particle size can be controlled by the particle size of the precursors.

Exotic energy deposition

So-called exotic energy deposition systems also are employed in the processing of ceramic powders, often resulting in extremely small clusters of atoms or ions or nano-size particles. Among other techniques, vacuum evaporation/condensation can be employed to make nanoparticles. In this system metal sources are heated through electrical resistivity under conditions of ultra-high vacuum. Metal atoms evaporate and then form clusters that deposit on a thermal convection collector that is chilled by liquid nitrogen. The nanoparticles can be oxidized before or after being scraped from the collector.

Traditional methods

Many of the same consolidation processes used for traditional ceramics—e.g., pressing, extrusion, slip casting—are also employed for advanced ceramics. A high degree of sophistication has been obtained in these processes. An outstanding example is the extruded honeycomb-shaped structure used as the catalyst support in automotive catalytic convertors. These small structures have hundreds of open cells per square centimetre, with wall thicknesses of less than 0.1 millimetre. The extrusion of such fine shapes is made possible by the addition of a hydraulic (water-setting) polymer resin to the mix. The resin rapidly cures upon extrusion of the mix into hot water and imparts “green” (prefired) strength to the structure. (Pressing, extrusion, and slip casting are described in the article traditional ceramics.)

Tape casting

Tape casting is another process that was originally used with traditional ceramics but has achieved a high level of sophistication for advanced ceramics. In particular, tape-casting methods are used to make substrates for integrated circuits and the multilayer structures used in both integrated-circuit packages and multilayer capacitors. A common tape-casting method is called doctor blading. In this process a ceramic powder slurry, containing an organic solvent such as ethanol and various other additives (e.g., polymer binder), is continuously cast onto a moving carrier surface made of a smooth, “no-stick” material such as Teflon. A smooth knife edge spreads the slurry to a specified thickness, the solvent is evaporated, and the tape is rolled onto a take-up reel for additional processing.

Two other tape-casting methods are the waterfall technique and the paper-casting process. In the waterfall technique a conveyor belt carries a flat surface through a continuous, recirculated waterfall of slurry. This method—which is commonly employed to coat candy with chocolate—has also been used to form thin-film dielectrics for capacitors as well as thick-film porous electrodes for fuel cells. The paper-casting process involves dipping a continuous paper tape into a ceramic powder slurry. The coated paper is dried and rolled onto take-up reels. In subsequent firing operations the paper is burned away, leaving the ceramic structure.

Injection molding

Injection molding, commonly employed in polymer processing, also is employed for advanced ceramics. In injection molding a ceramic mix is forced through a heated tubular barrel by action of a screw or plunger. The mix consists of ceramic powder plus a thermoplastic polymer that softens with heat. The heated barrel of the injection molding machine ensures that the mix will flow under pressure, and the screw or plunger forces the fluid mix into a cold die cavity, where the mass hardens to the shape specified by the cavity. Complex shapes can be achieved in injection molding. Outstanding examples are rotors for turbochargers and rotor blades and stator vanes for gas turbines, made from silicon carbide and silicon nitride.