Ceramic Chemical Structure

Silicon dioxide sio 2 other ceramic materials including many minerals have complex and even variable compositions.

Ceramic chemical structure.

The two most common chemical bonds for ceramic materials are covalent and ionic. Achieve closest packing. The ionic and covalent bonds of ceramics are responsible for many unique properties of these materials such as high hardness high melting points low thermal expansion and good chemical resistance but also for some undesirable characteristics foremost being brittleness which leads to fractures unless the material is toughened by reinforcing agents or by other means. Ordinarily ceramics are poor conductors of electricity and therefore make excellent insulators.

These structures and chemical ingredients though various result in universally recognized ceramic like properties of enduring utility including the following. Ceramic composition and properties ceramic composition and properties nonconductivity. Chemical durability against the deteriorating effects of oxygen water acids bases salts and organic solvents. Some elements such as carbon or silicon may be considered ceramics ceramic materials are brittle hard strong in compression and weak in shearing and tension.

A few of the different types of ceramic materials outside of the glass family are described below. Mechanical strength in spite of brittleness. Silicate ceramics as mentioned previously the silica structure is the basic structure for many ceramics as well as glass. Thermal and electrical.

The bonding of atoms together is much stronger in covalent and ionic bonding than in metallic. For example the ceramic mineral feldspar one of the components of granite has the formula kalsi 3 o 8. A ceramic material is an inorganic non metallic often crystalline oxide nitride or carbide material. Ceramic chemistry studies the relationship between the physical properties of fired ceramics and ceramic glazes and their chemistry.

Alumina represents the most commonly used ceramic material in industry. Hardness contributing to resistance against wear. Typical alumina al 2 o 3 99 5 properties. The chemical bonds in ceramics can be covalent ionic or polar covalent depending on the chemical composition of the ceramic.

It provides superior abrasion high temperature and chemical resistance and is also electrically insulating. Although ceramic technicians have long understood many of these relationships the advent of computer software to automate the conversion from batch to formula and analysis has brought this science within the reach of many more people. Ceradyne and ceramic industry disclaim any and all liability from error omissions or inaccuracies in the above chart. This is why ceramics generally have the following properties.

In ionically bonded ceramics bonding electrons are accepted by the electronegative elements such as oxygen and. High hardness high compressive strength and chemical inertness.