| Phone: |
+420 54114 9728, +420 54114 3339 |
| E-mail: |
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| Office: |
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| Phone: |
+420 54114 9729, +420 54114 3343 |
| E-mail: |
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| Office: |
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Research areas
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Biomaterials
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Materials for energetics and ecology
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Structural materials
Main objectives
Biomaterials
The development of novel composite biomaterials that can induce the growth of connective tissue on the surface of implants and thus accelerate healing and improve the strength and biological stability of the implant-tissue connection (ceramic materials for replacement of soft and hard tissues, materials for orthopaedic devices).
Materials for energetics and ecology
The development of novel composite materials with functionally graded structures for improving the efficiency and lifetimes of components and devices for energetics (conductive ceramic materials for electrodes, catalysts for the decomposition of gaseous pollutants).
Structural materials
The development of novel ceramics and ceramic composites with excellent mechanical and thermal properties for structural applications (transparent ceramic materials, thermally and chemically resistant ceramic composite materials, impact-resistant ceramic composites).
Content of research
Advanced ceramic materials
The research will be focussed on the preparation of precursors of advanced ceramic materials and composites using modern advanced methods of inorganic ceramic powder synthesis and surface or bulk modifi cations of ceramic nanoparticles. By means of application of novel ceramic shaping and sintering methods and using advanced ceramic precursors new heterogeneous, functionally graded and nanostructural ceramic materials will be developed. Characterisation of composition structure and properties of advanced ceramic materials, modelling of the structure-property-function relationships and testing of ceramic materials from the view of potential applications will be carried out. The particular research activities include:
Synthesis of ceramic powdered materials
The research of ceramic synthesis will be focussed on methods for the thermodynamically and kinetically controlled preparation of powder materials or mixtures with a defi ned chemical composition and properties (size, shape and phase composition) namely on synthesis methods producing nanoceramic powders with tailored properties. Newly developed methods based on organometallic, colloidal and surface chemistry will facilitate the precise control of the composition and surface properties of nanometric ceramic powders. This will have consequences in decreasing sintering temperatures and also in new properties of nanostructured ceramics.
Consolidation, shaping and sintering of ceramic materials
The research in the area of shaping ceramic materials will be mainly focussed on a study of concentrated ceramic suspensions and their behaviour during consolidation by methods based on liquid-solid phase transition. The development of these techniques will be oriented to materials with requested structure and dimensional accuracy. The main eff ort will be focussed on fi nding empirical and physical models describing the behaviour of concentrated suspensions during their transition to bulk nanoceramics. There is a lack of rigorous models for the quantitative prediction of the sintering behaviour of multicomponent and multiphase complex systems. The research in this area will be focussed on the development of new models so that sintering processes can be described in relation to the evolution of the microstructure as well as the chemical and phase composition of ceramic materials. These models (based e.g. on an atom’s diff usivities and the surface energy of grains) will facilitate the description of the microstructure of microstructured as well as nanostructured ceramic materials and thus tailor the properties of the fi nal products.
Physico-chemical properties of ceramic materials
The research in this area will be focussed on the study and testing of the surface properties and catalytic, photocatalytic and electrochemical properties of ceramic powdered materials, ceramic coatings, thick layers and membranes. The properties of nanostructured ceramic materials used as catalysts for chemical transformation of hydrocarbones, photocatalysts for water splitting, electroceramics for membrane reactors and solid oxide fuel cells will be studied and appropriately adjusted according to the selected application.
Electroanalytical diagnostic of materials
This research will be focussed on the study of (ceramic) materials in a low intensity AC and DC electric field using an integrated system of measuring instruments with a wide frequency range and sensitive electrometer, picoampermeter and sub-femtoampermeter. The materials (namely ceramics, polymers, and composites) will be tested by electrical and electrochemical methods (EIS, CV, LSV, DPV). The workplace for ultra-low current measurement (fA) will be used to study the kinetic properties and diff usion transport eff ects in advanced materials. Material properties will be evaluated during the course of aging by the impedance spectroscopy method in the frequency, time and temperature domain.
CURRENT RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
Ceramic laboratories are equipped with devices for synthesis, shaping and sintering of advanced ceramic materials: equipment for ceramic particle synthesis (hydrothermal reactors, ultrasonic reactors, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis reactor, microwave solvothermal reactors), a ceramic injection moulding machine, a double-screw ceramic extrusion machine with a granulator, a biaxial ceramic press, a cold isostatic press, a CVD system, a 3D printing machine, a drying climatic chamber, a hot isostatic press (1500°C, 2000 bar), a set of high-temperature furnaces for sintering ceramics in air and hydrogen atmospheres, a high-temperature furnace with a rapid heating rate, a high-temperature dilatometer; equipment for particle and ceramic body characterization: particle size, specific surface-area and pore-size analyses; equipment for rheological and electrokinetic measurements; systems for testing thermal and (photo)catalytic properties of ceramics; a complete ceramographic laboratory; and a 5D-milling machine.
