Potential of ceramic nanoparticles

Abstract

Nano technology is one of the keywords of modern ceramics. it is a curious fact that ceramists have worked in fact with nano particles since time out of mind: clays contain extremely fine colloidal particles giving e.g. the plasticity, which is necessary for plastic moulding. Even certain ceramic of glass colours of the middleage have used nano particles - without knowing details of their size and action. The "new wave" of the last decades has made nano particles, a world between atoms and the macroworld, interesting for chemists, biologists, material specialists and others. The articles in technical publications and the presentations in conferences have brought some knowledge about this microworld to ceramists, but it often just scratches the surface. The following paper is written by a team of R&D-specialists, working in the Southwest of Germany at the Institute for New Materials (INM) headed by Prof.Dr. rer.nat. Helmut Schmidt, a worldwide esteemed pioneer in this special area.