caa a22 4500 528786083 20190713030956.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180924s2017 xx s 000 0 eng 10.3929/ethz-b-000129575 doi 10.1038/ncomms14655 doi (ETHRESEARCH)oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/129575 Geologically-inspired strong bulk ceramics made with water at room temperature [Elektronische Daten] [André R. Studart] Nat Commun Open access ethresearch Dense ceramic materials can form in nature under mild temperatures in water. By contrast, man-made ceramics often require sintering temperatures in excess of 1,400 °C for densification. Chemical strategies inspired by biomineralization processes have been demonstrated but remain limited to the fabrication of thin films and particles. Besides biomineralization, the formation of dense ceramic-like materials such as limestone also occurs in nature through large-scale geological processes. Inspired by the geological compaction of mineral sediments in nature, we report a room-temperature method to produce dense and strong ceramics within timescales comparable to those of conventional manufacturing processes. Using nanoscale powders and high compaction pressures, we show that such cold sintering process can be realized with water at room temperature to result in centimetre-sized bulk parts with specific strength that is comparable to, and occasionally even higher than, that of traditional structural materials like concrete. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ethresearch Studart André R. joint author Nature Communications London : Nature Publishing Group 8, p. 14655 2041-1723 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/129575 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) 1 Journal Article ethresearch ETHRESEARCH 856 40 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/129575 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Studart André R. joint author ETHRESEARCH 773 0- Nature Communications London : Nature Publishing Group 8, p. 14655 2041-1723 BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH Journal Article Open access