Ceramic Materials: Processing, Properties and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Ceramic materials are understood to mean thermally stable inorganic and non-metallic materials. These materials are dominated by first-order covalent and ionic atomic bonds, which usually form a spatial network which gives the materials high melting points, high stiffness and hardness, and resistance to aggressive environments.

From the second half of the twentieth century, it is becoming increasingly important to use the properties of ceramic materials related to their electronic structure.

One class of these ceramic functional materials consists of dielectrics, where the electric field only causes polarization, i.e., a slight separation of negative and positive charges (anions and cations, and electrons and positively charged atom cores). Dielectrics are also incapable of absorbing photons of visible light and are transparent (if free from pores and impurities).

In the second class of functional ceramics, semiconductors, light photons can be absorbed, giving their energy back to electrons. In an electric field, this entails a flow of current or voltage generation (which is used, for example, in solar cells), and in other cases, the emission of light due to the release of the energy of excited electrons (as in the case of LEDs). Tc and other properties related to the electronic structure of ceramic materials are exploited in the production of electronic and optoelectronic devices of modern advanced technologies. These advanced ceramics are produced in various forms (solid shapes, thin films, fibers) using a wide range of macro- and microtechnologies.

The scope of this Special Issue is recent advances in the production and processing of ceramics for various applications.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews on the manufacturing and properties of ceramics are welcome.

Dr. Lucjan Kozielski
Prof. Dr. Zbigniew Pędzich
Guest Editors

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