Far more than a material for crockery and tableware, ceramics are getting an upgrade in engineering. From electric fields to AI, researchers are transforming these traditional composites.
Image Credit: AU USAnakul/Shutterstock.com
What are Ceramics?
Ceramics are a class of inorganic, non-metallic materials held together through ionic and covalent bonding.
Their atomic structure is defined by a rigid lattice network formed during high-temperature processing routes, such as sintering. This crystallographic structure yields high melting points, high hardness, chemical inertness, and electrical insulation properties.
Strong ionic and covalent bonds resist plastic deformation and prevent dislocation motion, which limits plastic strain capability to less than 0.1 % at RTP.
This restriction results in brittle fracture under tensile or cyclic loading, but does not compromise their ability to sustain compressive strengths exceeding 1000 MPa or maintain structural stability at temperatures where metallic systems melt or oxidize.
With such strength, stability, and resistance to deformation, ceramics are well-positioned as functional materials for aerospace structures, electronic substrates, protective armor, energy conversion components, and more.1
Ceramics have been used since at least 28,000?BCE, beginning with fired clay figurines and later evolving into pottery and functional containers.
Technological advances, from the potter’s wheel to expanded trade networks, and industrial innovations from the 15th century onward have enabled the development of refractory and technical ceramics.
Over time, ceramics have evolved from simple functional objects to engineered materials with properties optimized for a wide range of modern industrial uses.2
Types of Ceramics Used in Industry
Oxide Ceramics
Oxide ceramics comprise inorganic and non-metallic compounds based on metal oxides such as aluminum, zirconium, silicon, and magnesium.
Their structure is dominated by oxygen anions bonded to metallic cations, resulting in high thermal stability, chemical inertness, and a wide range of electrical characteristics.
These can vary from insulating to semiconducting grades, depending on composition and microstructure.
Alumina (Al2O3) is the most widely used oxide ceramic. It has high hardness, electrical insulation, and stability up to approximately 1500 °C, with dense grades achieving Vickers hardness values of around 20 GPa.
These properties make alumina highly valuable for substrates, seals, crucibles, and structural components in electronics, chemical processing, and high-temperature engineering applications, where metallic components would otherwise oxidize, distort, or melt.
Applying ceramic coatings to the body of a car can protect against damage. Image Credit: Vershinin89/Shutterstock.com
Non-Oxide Ceramics
Non-oxide ceramics include compounds such as carbides, nitrides, and borides. These materials exhibit covalent bonding that produces greater hardness and refractory characteristics than oxide ceramics. The absence of oxygen results in improved thermal conductivity and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures, though many non-oxide ceramics demonstrate susceptibility to oxidation.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the hardest ceramic materials, with a Mohs hardness of approximately 9.5, a thermal conductivity of approximately 120 W/m K, and flexural strengths exceeding 400 MPa at elevated temperatures.
These properties support abrasive grinding wheels, heat exchanger components, semiconductor substrates for high-voltage and high-frequency power electronics, and advanced armor systems where high hardness and low density reduce areal mass.
The automotive industry is increasingly adopting silicon carbide in brake discs and diesel particulate filters.
Silicate Ceramics
Silicate ceramics comprise traditional clay-based materials alongside modern engineered compositions. They contain silicon-oxygen tetrahedra as their fundamental structural units, often combined with elements such as aluminum, magnesium, and calcium.
The silicate framework offers broad compositional flexibility and supports various processing routes, ranging from low-cost clay formation to engineered sintering for enhanced performance.
Although silicate ceramics generally do not match the extreme hardness, refractoriness, or thermal conductivity of oxide or non-oxide ceramics, they are cost-effective and reliable for structural and thermal applications that do not demand ultra-high performance metrics.
Porcelain is one of the most common silicate ceramics. It is composed primarily of kaolin, feldspar, and quartz.
Porcelain's characteristic properties result from vitrification during firing, where feldspar melts to form a glassy matrix that binds quartz particles and mullite crystals.
Its microstructure provides excellent electrical insulation with breakdown strengths exceeding 10 kV per mm, alongside high chemical resistance and low water absorption.
Technical grades of porcelain achieve flexural strengths in the range of 100 to 150 MPa. As a result, they can be used in high-voltage insulators, laboratory crucibles, sanitary ware, and architectural components where electrical reliability, impermeability, and dimensional stability are required.
Glass Ceramics
Glass-ceramics are a hybrid class initially formed as amorphous glass through conventional melting processes, then subjected to controlled crystallization heat treatments. This dual-stage processing combines the formability of glass with enhanced properties approaching those of polycrystalline ceramics.
The resulting microstructure consists of fine-grained crystalline phases, typically comprising 50-95 % of the volume, dispersed within a residual glass matrix.
Lithium aluminosilicate-based glass ceramics represent a specialized family within this category because controlled crystallization produces β-spodumene or β-quartz solid solution phases that achieve near-zero thermal expansion coefficients below 1 × 10-6/°C.
This yields exceptional thermal shock resistance and dimensional stability under severe thermal gradients. These materials are therefore employed in cooktop panels, telescope mirror substrates, and cookware where thermal stability must be maintained while sustaining mechanical strengths between 100 and 200 MPa at continuous operating temperatures approaching 700 °C.1,3,4
Comparative Analysis of Ceramic Types
|
Ceramic Type
|
Key Advantages
|
Primary Disadvantages
|
Typical Cost
|
Maximum Temperature
|
|
Oxide
|
Oxidation resistance; electrical insulation; chemical inertness
|
Limited fracture toughness
|
Low-Moderate
|
1600-1800 °C
|
|
Non-Oxide
|
Superior hardness; high thermal conductivity
|
Oxidation susceptibility; challenging machining
|
Moderate-High
|
1400-2000 °C
|
|
Silicate
|
Low production costs; processing flexibility
|
Lower strength versus advanced ceramics
|
Low
|
1000-1400 °C
|
|
Glass-Ceramic
|
Complex shape formation; thermal shock resistance
|
Limited maximum temperatures
|
Moderate
|
700-1200 °C
|
Table 1: A comparative analysis of different ceramic types - advantages, disadvantages, typical cost, and temperature.
Recent Advances in Ceramic Processing
AI-Optimized Processing for High-Temperature Structural Ceramics
A DARPA-funded research effort enhanced the toughness and thermal stability of aluminum-doped boron carbide through hot forging and reaction sintering, supported by physics-based machine learning optimization.
The work integrated experimental characterization, atomic-scale simulation, and predictive models to link processing parameters to defect formation and toughening mechanisms.
The researchers aimed to achieve an order-of-magnitude increase in toughness while maintaining high strength to address the brittleness limitation that currently restricts ceramic deployment in high-temperature structural environments.
This approach offers a pathway to produce structurally reliable ceramics for aerospace, defense, and other sectors that require lightweight, high-temperature systems.5
3D Printing Technical Ceramics
Here, Steinbach AG Technical Ceramics demonstrates how additive manufacturing can further transform the industry:
Additive Manufacturing meets Technical Ceramics | Steinbach AG
Video Credit: Steinbach AG/YouTube.com
Surface Layer Removal for Enhanced Wear Resistance
A study published in Ceramics demonstrated that the surface integrity and wear performance of ZrO2, Al2O3, and Si3N4 ceramics can be improved by removing the defective layer formed during diamond grinding.
The researchers used a fast neutral argon atom beam system to selectively remove the defective layer, which contained deep grooves, microcracks, grain pull-out, and tensile stress fields that acted as failure initiation sites under mechanical loading.
The removal of surface damage reduced abrasive wear by an order of magnitude and improved adhesion of subsequently deposited functional coatings.
This process enhances the mechanical reliability and extends the service life of ceramics in demanding applications such as cutting tools, wear-resistant components, and high-performance structural parts.6
Electric Field-Assisted Sintering for Enhanced Ductility
A study published in the Science Advances presents a reinforcement strategy to enhance the ductility and fracture resistance of ceramics by applying an electric field during sintering, a process known as flash sintering.
The technique generates a high density of nanoscale defects, including stacking faults, nanotwins, and dislocations within titanium dioxide, allowing plastic deformation at room temperature before catastrophic failure.
This defect-induced mechanism eliminates the high nucleation stress typically required for brittle fracture, effectively transforming a conventionally brittle material into one capable of sustaining compression strains comparable to those of metals.
This approach is significant because improved low-temperature ductility expands the operational envelope of ceramics used in aerospace, defense, automotive, nuclear, and sustainable energy hardware, enabling higher reliability under load without resorting to extremely high-temperature operation or complex composite architectures.7
Want more on ceramics? Read this interview to find out how fine ceramics can support renewable energy generation!
Conclusion
Ceramics are highly valued for their high hardness, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. However, their intrinsic brittleness and limited tensile strength remain significant challenges for broader structural applications.
Ongoing research focused on microstructure control, composite reinforcement, and advanced processing techniques aims to enhance toughness, reliability, and multifunctionality, expanding the applicability of ceramics across demanding industrial domains.
References and Further Reading
- Giordano II, R. (2022). Ceramics overview. British Dental Journal, 232(9), 658-663. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4242-6
- ACerS. (2025). A Brief History of Ceramics and Glass. https://ceramics.org/about/what-are-ceramics/a-brief-history-of-ceramics-and-glass/
- Advanced Ceramic Materials. (2025). Types and Applications of All Kinds of Ceramic Materials. https://www.preciseceramic.com/blog/types-and-applications-of-all-kinds-of-ceramic-materials.html
- Roux, V. (2019). Ceramics and Society. SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007-978-3-030-03973-8
- McKenna, D. (2025). Dimitris Giovanis and Somdatta Goswami Receive DARPA INTACT Grant to Develop Heat-Resistant Ceramics. https://engineering.jhu.edu/case/news/dimitris-giovanis-and-somdatta-goswami-receive-darpa-intact-grant-to-develop-heat-resistant-ceramics/
- Metel, A. S., Volosova, M. A., Mustafaev, E. S., Melnik, Y. A., Okunkova, A. A., & Grigoriev, S. N. (2024). Improving the Quality of Ceramic Products by Removing the Defective Surface Layer. Ceramics, 7(1), 55-67. https://doi.org/10.3390/ceramics7010005
- Li, J., Cho, J., Ding, J., Charalambous, H., Xue, S., Wang, H., Phuah, X. L., Jian, J., Wang, X., Ophus, C., Tsakalakos, T., García, R. E., Mukherjee, A. K., Bernstein, N., Hellberg, C. S., Wang, H., & Zhang, X. (2019). Nanoscale stacking fault–assisted room temperature plasticity in flash-sintered TiO2. Science Advances. https://doi.org/aaw5519
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.