Scientists Find Atomic Clues to Tougher Ceramics

Advanced ceramics are wonderful materials – they withstand temperatures that would melt steel and resist most corrosive chemicals. If only they weren’t so brittle. Poor resistance to fracture damage has been the major drawback to the widespread use of advanced ceramics as structural materials. Help, however, may be on the way.
A collaboration of scientists led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has uncovered clues at the atomic level that could lead to a new generation of much tougher advanced ceramics to be used in applications like gas turbine engines.