Advanced ceramics for industry and research

Advanced ceramics are recommended for all applications where: high hardness and abrasive resistance, high toughness, low porosity, high strength, low specific gravity, good thermal shock resistance, high elastic modulus and corrosion resistance are required. These characteristics are the basis for the application of these materials in many fields like mechanical engineering, heat technology, chemical engineering and medicine.

Ceramic membranes

Ceramic membranes offer specific advantages in separation techniques: Chemical, mechanical and thermal stability Ability of steam sterilization and back flushing High abrasion resistance High fluxes High durability Bacteria resistance Possibility of regeneration Dry storage after cleaning.

Electro ceramics

Titanium oxide (rutile) or different titanate ceramics, especially different kinds of ferroelectric ceramics Properties Electrical resistance, level and temperature characteristics adaptable to different applications especially different PTCR-characteristics Dielectric susceptibility, values and temperature characteristics adaptable to different applications Porosity and pore size distribution can be aligned on demand Structural Shapes Pressed discs, chips or plates Extruded tubes, honeycombs or profiles Ceramic tapes or ceramic granulates Examples Honeycombs or tubes with PTCR-characteristics for heating gaseous or liquid fluids up to 250 °C Tubes, plates or granulates with well defined dielectric characteristics for use as dielectric barriers in plasma reactors Dielectric tubes or plates for applications in membrane technologies

High temperature-stable joining of ceramic components

Ceramic parts, which are not producible from a single piece due to necessary combinations of material properties or because of special geometries can be built up from several individual parts by different joining processes, which are traditionally used in soldering or welding engineerings. Purely ceramic joinings are advantageous by using special ceramic pastes. The characteristics of the joint are usually well adaptable to the different conjoining ceramics.

Polymer ceramics - novel inorganic-organic composites

Polymer ceramic materials are inorganic-organic composites consisting of ceramic fillers and a matrix of organic polymers. The formation of the polymer ceramics is based on the chemical interaction of reactive groups on the surface of the filler particles with functional groups of the organic polymers. Polymer ceramics combine useful properties as ceramic-like thermal stability and plastics-like high-performance and energy saving manufacturing technologies (plastic forming techniques, thermal curing up to 200�C without sintering). Two types of polymer ceramic materials have been developed. The polymer ceramics CERMOPOLŽ can be processed as a granulate for dry pressing. The maximum long term service temperature of CERMOPOLŽ is 200�C. The polymer ceramics CERMOSILŽ- were developed to increase the thermal stability beyond 600�C. For this type of polymer ceramics a broad variety of plastic forming techniques like ceramic injection moulding, cold and hot extrusion can be applied besides dry pressing. Both types of polymer ceramic materials are distinguished by low shrinkage and therefore a high dimensional stability and precision. Furthermore they can be machined and recycled easily. Polymer ceramics have good electric insulation behaviour. Properties of the material and technological parameters can be especially adjusted and customized. This way systems with high electrical or thermal conductivity of with metal like thermal expansion behaviour and zero shrinkage for high precision parts could be developed. The polymer-ceramic foam CERMOPORŽ can be produced based on the system CERMOSILŽ by the use of suitable foaming agents. CERMOPORŽ-foams are not combustible, have no toxic constituents and combine inherent bonding strength and variable processing with high temperature stability. The foaming materials can be prepared as powders, pastes, or knifing fillers. Polymer ceramic foams show low thermal conductivity and good electric insulation behaviour. Basic characteristics of the foams like volume, size and structure of the pores, the density, the mechanical, thermal and electric properties can be controlled in several ways and adapted to individual requirements.

Ultrapure Al2O3 membranes for capacitive pressure sensors

Capacitive ceramic pressure sensor elements are useful for pressure transducers and pressure transmitters in the most diverse ranges, e.g. in chemical process engineering and vacuum engineering. The function is based on the capacitive measurement principle. On a rigid target two electrodes are applied, by those the internal forms the test electrode and the outer one the reference electrode. Over it in a small distance the common back plate electrode is on a pressure-sensitive ceramic membrane. For increased corrosion resistance and for the improvement of the relaxation behaviour of the sensor utilizing of highly pure membrane materials as Al2O3-materials (Al2O3-content ≥ 99,9 %) is necessary. Our membranes are characterized by: corrosion resistance, highest strength and extreme overload strength.