High-strength transparent material for aerospace applications developed by UNN chemists

Chemists at Lobachevsky University have developed a transparent and super-strong material for Russian aerospace industry. The infrared transparency and high strength of magnesium yttrium oxide (MgO-Y2O3) composites open up new possibilities for building aircraft and spacecraft operating under very high thermal and mechanical loads.

"This is the first time we have used the microwave sintering method to produce IR-transparent composite ceramics. The technology provides for ultrafast heating at a rate of over 100 degrees per minute. In the absence of heating elements, we can obtain pure materials and vary the sintering atmosphere," commented Dmitry Permin, Head of the Laboratory of Optical Ceramic Materials at the UNN Faculty of Chemistry.

According to the Nizhny Novgorod scientists, the advantages of microwave heating will allow the production technology to be scaled up when manufacturing large-sized items.

"The challenges in obtaining IR-transparent composites are related to the peculiarities of their microstructure. The grains that make up a composite must be 10-20 times smaller than the wavelength of infrared radiation. The required ratios were achieved by using high-tech microwave generators at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences," said Dmitry Permin.

Composite ceramics with outstanding properties were developed in a joint project of scientists from the UNN Faculty of Chemistry, the Institute of Chemistry of High-Purity Substances of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. The results were published in the journal Ceramics International.