AN OVERVIEW OF CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL ROUTES TO ADVANCED CERAMIC POWDERS

To produce ceramic components with reliable and reproducible properties, it is important to use powders with controlled properties. Until recently, ceramic powders were prepared by methods which were difficult to control and did not lead directly to powders with the desired physical properties. Improved powder production methods and new chemical methods have been developed for producing powders with controlled morphologies, purities, and particle size distributions. These chemical methods include solution and gas phase techniques. An overview of these approaches and others currently used to produce advanced ceramic powders is discussed.