Zirconia ceramic products, the future is promising!

Zirconia ceramic products, the future is promising!
Zirconia ceramic materials, as the most important type of advanced ceramics, are a fundamental material for the development of modern high-tech industries.
Starting from the early 1950s, research on new ceramics mainly composed of zirconia was carried out. In the late 1970s, tetragonal zirconia ceramics with the highest strength and toughness among structural ceramics and the ability to phase change were prepared.
Zirconia has a wide range of applications and a broad market, including solid fuel cells, automotive exhaust treatment, dental materials, ceramic cutting tools, and zirconia ceramic fiber optic inserts.
As the 5G era of mobile phones approaches, zirconia ceramics have once again become a hot topic in the industry due to their warm and smooth texture, scratch resistance, wear resistance, no signal shielding, and excellent heat dissipation performance. The rapid rise of the zirconia ceramic mobile phone backboard industry has attracted capital to fiercely compete for the emerging industry market worth billions of yuan.
Zirconia ceramics can be polished, have a beautiful appearance, and have a low cost, making them excellent wearable materials. In recent years, they have also been widely used in intelligent wear.
Zirconia ceramics have high hardness, wear resistance, good high-temperature thermal stability, and heat-resistant impact performance. With the development of zirconia ceramics, their application fields have expanded from refractory materials in the past to structural ceramics, bioceramics, and electronic functional ceramics in today's fields. They also have active applications in high-tech fields such as aerospace and nuclear industry.

Application in the field of porous ceramics
ZrO2 porous ceramics not only have the characteristics of high melting point, high hardness, low thermal conductivity, good thermal stability, and low high-temperature creep, but also have the characteristics of low density, high strength, high porosity, large specific surface area, strong self disturbance to fluids, and good filtration and adsorption properties of porous ceramics.
In addition, the martensitic transformation of ZrO2 can play a toughening effect such as phase transformation toughening, microcrack toughening, and dispersion toughening, which can greatly improve the toughness and strength of porous ceramics.

Application in the field of catalysis
Zirconia is a unique oxide that not only has acidic and alkaline centers, but also has oxidizing and reducing properties, and is prone to strong interactions with catalyst active components. Porous ZrO2 ceramics can be used as an excellent catalyst and catalyst carrier. By utilizing the high oxygen ion conductivity of fully stable zirconia, ZrO2 porous ceramics can be widely used in functional materials such as oxygen sensors and solid fuel cell dielectrics.

Application in the field of thermal insulation
ZrO2 porous ceramics combine the advantages of ceramic materials and pore structures, and are widely used in insulation and thermal insulation. For example, spacecraft and engineering structural materials (such as turbine blades, jet engines, etc.) require special materials for protection in harsh environments. These protective layer materials not only protect the protected material from corrosion, wear, and erosion, but also serve as insulation. Making porous ceramics from zirconia based materials can further reduce thermal conductivity and density. Meanwhile, the pore structure in porous ceramics can also alleviate the stress caused by thermal expansion mismatch.

Application in filtering
The maximum operating temperature of zirconia ceramic filter is 1760 ℃, and it is widely used for filtering various cast steel and large cast iron parts, high-temperature parent alloys and aviation castings, magnetic materials, copper magnesium alloy continuous casting, and low pressure casting of non-ferrous metal alloys.

Application in the field of structural ceramics
Zirconia ceramics have good mechanical properties and are widely used as engineering structural materials.
① Ceramic bearings
Zirconia all ceramic bearings have the characteristics of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, high cold resistance, oil-free self-lubricating, anti magnetic insulation, etc., and can be used in extremely harsh environments and special working conditions.
② Ceramic valves
Due to the limitations of metal materials themselves, the corrosion and damage of metals have a significant impact on the durability, reliability, and service life of valve wear resistance. Zirconia ceramic valves have excellent wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, and thermal shock resistance, which can effectively replace traditional metal alloy valves, especially in harsh working environments, effectively reduce wear, improve corrosion resistance, and greatly improve service life.
③ Grinding materials
Zirconia has high hardness and wear resistance, so it has a wide range of applications in the fields of grinding media and tools. Such as ball mill balls, internal lining and wear-resistant components of ball mills, drawing dies, etc.
Zirconia grinding balls have high hardness, low wear rate, and long service life, which can greatly reduce the pollution of grinding materials and ensure product quality. At the same time, zirconia materials have high density and strong impact energy when used as grinding media, which can greatly improve the grinding dispersion efficiency. Its good chemical stability determines its corrosion resistance and can be used in acidic and alkaline media.

Application in the field of functional ceramics
① Ceramic cutting tools
Zirconia ceramic cutting tools have the characteristics of high strength, wear resistance, non rusting, non oxidation, acid and alkali resistance, anti-static, and will not react with food. At the same time, the blade body is as shiny as jade, making it an ideal high-tech green cutting tool, mainly including zirconia ceramic dining knives, scissors, razors, surgical knives, etc.
② High temperature heating element
Zirconia is an insulating material at room temperature, with a specific resistance of up to 1015 Ω· cm. It can conduct electricity when the temperature rises to 600 ℃, and is a good conductor above 1000 ℃. It can be used as a high-temperature heating element at 1800 ℃, with a maximum working temperature of 2400 ℃. Currently, it has been successfully used in heating elements and equipment in oxidizing atmospheres above 2000 ℃.
③ Bioceramic materials
The most common application of zirconia ceramic materials in the biomedical field is as dental restorative materials. The porcelain teeth made of zirconia material have good transparency, excellent glossiness, and excellent quality. The strong toughness of zirconia material also makes up for the shortcomings of ordinary porcelain teeth that are prone to collapse. It has good biocompatibility, does not stimulate oral mucosal tissue, is easy to clean, and is currently the highest quality porcelain teeth at home and abroad, and can be called a noble in the family of porcelain teeth. In addition, zirconia materials can also be used for medical purposes such as artificial bones and joints.
④ Coating materials
A high-performance zirconia thermal barrier ceramic coating material stabilized by stabilizers such as Y2O3, mainly used in high-performance turboaircraft engines. Thermal barrier coatings utilize the insulation and corrosion resistance characteristics of ceramics to protect metal materials, which can not only improve the combustion efficiency of fuel, but also greatly extend the lifespan of engines. It has important application value in aviation, aerospace, marine vessels, large-scale thermal power generation, and automotive power.
⑤ Communication materials
At present, ceramic inserts and sleeves are widely used in fiber optic connectors. Toughened zirconia ceramics have excellent mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and high insulation performance, which can be competent in this field. Ceramic ferrules made of high-strength and high toughness ceramics not only meet high-precision requirements, but also have a long service life and extremely low insertion and return losses.
⑥ Oxygen sensor
The piezoelectric material mainly composed of zirconia has been widely used. The oxygen sensor made of zirconia has high sensitivity and has been widely used to detect the oxygen content of molten steel, the ratio of oxygen to gas in engines, and the oxygen content in industrial exhaust gas. Zirconia ceramic materials can also be used to make intelligent automated detection systems for temperature, sound, pressure, and acceleration sensors.
⑦ Gemstone materials
Zirconia gemstone materials are divided into two types: natural cubic zirconia and artificially synthesized cubic zirconia. Artificial synthesized cubic zirconia has excellent optical properties, is lightweight, wear-resistant, anti sensitive, comfortable to wear, and is a cheap and beautiful substitute for diamonds. It is currently one of the more fashionable jewelry materials and is favored by major jewelry brands.

Advantages of Zirconia Ceramics in the Field of Intelligent Wearing
At present, intelligent wearable devices are mainly used in the fields of sports and health, such as recording exercise volume, heart rate detection, etc. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, intelligent wearable devices are becoming increasingly intelligent and will become an essential item in our daily lives.
The shells of existing smart wearable devices are mostly made of metal or plastic. Although metal has better heat dissipation effect, it is also a double-edged sword because the thermal conductivity of metal may make the equipment hot to the touch, affecting the feel. Metal is usually treated with anodizing and multi-color paint. If there is a physical collision, it is very easy for the paint to peel off and oxidize, reducing glossiness and affecting aesthetics; The texture of plastic is poor, and compared to the premium feeling generated by metal and glass, it is relatively dull. Even if manufacturers continuously add different design elements such as patterns and imitation leather, the feel is still relatively poor. The heat dissipation effect is average, and the heat may not dissipate in time, which may affect the operation effect of the equipment.
As an intelligent wearable material, ceramics have the following advantages:
① High hardness and wear resistance
From the perspective of hardness, zirconia ceramics have a Mohs hardness of around 8.5, which is very close to the Mohs hardness of sapphire 9. They are harder than commonly used metals and glass, and are less prone to scratches or abrasions. Compared with spray coating, anode, and PVD, they overcome uncomfortable problems such as peeling, fading, and wear, and have comparative advantages.
② Skin friendly, non allergic
Steel watches contain substances such as nickel, and the chemical components in sweat (salt ions) make these metal elements on the case more active (ionized), which can cause skin abnormalities. Ceramic materials do not have metal ion precipitation, and due to their low thermal conductivity, they are less likely to cause allergies when worn. Compared with metals and plastics, they are more skin friendly, have good compatibility with the human body, and are less likely to produce bacteria.
③ Good heat dissipation and uniformity
Good heat dissipation and good heat uniformity effectively solve equipment heat conduction problems, making it the best heat dissipation solution material.
④ Jade texture and warm color
Ceramics have the color and texture of jade, and can be artificially adjusted by adding rare earth elements. The colors are diverse, beautiful and elegant, which can enhance the product grade and consumer appeal. After polishing, zirconia has a jade like texture and is a high-end decorative material second only to gemstones, with a visual beauty.
⑤ Unshielded signal
The dielectric constant is three times that of sapphire, making the signal more sensitive and electrically insulating. It can achieve wireless charging without signal shielding and supports intelligent device positioning, telephone, payment, and subway meter flashing signal functions.
⑥ Suitable for mass production with low cost
The key technology of the localization of nano powder has been broken through to meet the mass production of ceramics. The mass production molding methods include dry pressing, injection, tape casting, gel casting, etc., and the production cost is low.