CANCELLED: WW-Colloquium: Prof. Dr. Till Frömling, Functional ceramics – future strategies for modifying properties and enabling fast sintering

Prof. Dr. Till Frömling
Technische Universität Darmstadt

Functional ceramics - future strategies for modifying properties and enabling fast sintering

This talk will discuss how dislocations in functional ceramics can be deliberately engineered to tailor electrical, ionic, and photoactive properties. Furthermore, photonic sintering studies are introduced, illustrating fast and energy-efficient densification of functional ceramics. Dislocations generate local strain fields and space charge regions that modify defect equilibria, thereby enabling dislocation-mediated enhancement of electronic and ionic transport in oxides such as TiO₂ and yttria-stabilized zirconia, as well as strongly increased photoconductivity in SrTiO₃. Controlled plastic deformation produces well-defined dislocation arrays, and their mesoscale arrangement governs macroscopic conductivity. With the help of local microelectrode and tracer experiments, we can quantify dislocation-enhanced charge and mass transport. Building on these insights, we can demonstrate that dislocation-rich oxides serve as efficient photocatalysts for reactions such as heterogeneous H₂O₂ synthesis and that mechanical tailoring of dislocation density opens a design space for catalytic and optoelectronic functionality. Finally, the talk will introduce photonic sintering of ceramics, where intense blue/UV illumination, assisted by temperature-dependent absorption and emissivity, enables rapid densification of a range of functional ceramics within seconds. This approach offers new opportunities for fast, energy-efficient processing of solid electrolytes and dielectric or semiconductor oxides and points toward advanced light-driven sintering in ceramic device manufacturing.

Zoom meeting-ID: 696 8033 1986
Zoom code: 437847