In-Situ Electron Microscopy Studies of Electric Field Assisted Sintering of Oxide Ceramics

Topic

In this project, in-situ scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies will be used to directly observe field effects during sintering of model oxide ceramics such as yttria-stabilized ZrO₂, ZnO and SrTiO₃. Microstructural evolution, including grain and void morphology, segregation and precipitation, will be tracked with and without applied fields/currents and compared with models in an attempt to determine the dominant driving forces and mechanisms for sintering and how they are affected by fields/currents.

In addition, in-situ high resolution studies will be used to gain insight into the atomic origins of sintering behavior as well as of the high conductivity states that occur in conjunction with flash events during field-assisted sintering.

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