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The Nano Powders for Preparing Special Ceramics

Special ceramics refer to ceramic materials with special properties and specific applications. Compared with traditional ceramics, special ceramics have higher hardness, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and insulation performance, and are widely used in various fields, including aerospace, electronics, medical, energy, chemical, etc.

 

Nano powder can play an important role in the preparation of special ceramics. By adding nano powders to the raw materials of special ceramics, the microstructure control and performance optimization of materials can be achieved. Nano powder has large specific surface area and size effect, which can enhance the mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, optical properties of special ceramics, and improve the processing properties and density of materials.

 

The following are several nano powders commonly used to prepare special ceramics:

 

Nano zirconia powder (HW-U702): With excellent mechanical properties, wear resistance, and chemical stability, it is suitable for preparing wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant special ceramics, such as cutting tools and ceramic coatings.

 

Nano alumina powder (HW-N611): With high hardness, heat resistance, and chemical stability, it can be used to prepare high-temperature ceramic materials, such as ceramic aviation engine components and high-temperature resistant electronic devices.

 

Nano tin oxide powder (HW-X678): With good conductivity and optical properties, it can be used to prepare transparent conductive ceramic materials, such as touch screens, displays, and solar cells.

 

Nano tungsten oxide powder (HW-W691): With high density, high melting point, and excellent wear resistance, it is suitable for preparing high-temperature and wear-resistant ceramic materials, such as cutting tools, bearings, and valve guides.

 

These special ceramic materials have extensive applications in many fields, including electronics, medical, aerospace, energy, and automotive industries. Their unique performance makes them suitable for various extreme environments and applications that require high durability.

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High-fidelity 3D Color Printing Achieved by Photochromic Properties of Nano-tungsten Trioxide WO3

A few days ago, the Barcelona Institute of Technology (ICFO) published a discovery in Nano Letters: mixing nano-tungsten oxide particles with polyamide as a photosensitizer for color 3D printing can avoid the problem of discoloration in printing caused by traditional carbon-based photosensitizers , which contributes to the realization of high-fidelity 3D color printing.

 

In order to reduce cost and increase printing speed, selective sintering 3D printing usually incorporates photothermal sensitizers, which can accelerate the rate at which incident light is converted into heat. However, when printing white and color products, commonly used carbon-based photothermal sensitizers are used. Agents can cause discoloration of the work.

 

Previous ICFO related research has used gold-coated nanosilica microspheres to overcome the above problems (ie strong absorption in the near-infrared with minimal interaction with visible light). It turns out that while it works well in color printing, it has limitations when it comes to large gradation colorful high fidelity and pure white printing.

 

This time ICFO uses nano-tungsten oxide (WO3) as a photothermal sensitizer, which greatly reduces the production difficulty and material cost. It is colorless at high concentrations and has strong absorption in the near-infrared region, proving that they can convert light into heat at a very fast rate, making them a fast flux; UV light is effectively activated or deactivated; more importantly, they are stable at very high temperatures and have shown superior heating to color change rates compared to other sensitizers available. Finally, when mixed with other color inks, these nanoparticles were able to reproduce the same color as the original powder, maintaining the color purity of the original sample. This also opens up a new avenue for high-fidelity 3D color printing.