CHAPTER 12

Structures and Properties of Ceramics

OBJECTIVES
1.

Sketch/describe unit cells for sodium chloride, cesium chloride, zinc blende,
diamond cubic, fluorite, and perovskite crystal structures. Do likewise for the
atomic structures of graphite and a silica glass.

2. Given the chemical formula for a ceramic compound and the ionic radii of its
component ions, predict the crystal structure.
3. Name and describe eight different ionic point defects that are found in ceramic
compounds.
4. Briefly explain why there is normally significant scatter in the fracture strength
for identical specimens of the same ceramic material.
5. Compute the flexural strength of ceramic rod specimens that have been bent to
fracture in three-point loading.
6. On the basis of slip considerations, explain why crystalline ceramic materials
are normally brittle.

CERAMIC STRUCTURES

Because ceramics are composed of at least two elements,and

often more,their crystal structures are generally more complex
than those for metals.The atomic bonding in these materials
ranges from purely ionic to totally covalent; many ceramics
exhibit a combination of these two bonding types, the degree
of ionic character being dependent on the electronegativities
of the atoms

CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

For those ceramic materials for which the atomic bonding is

predominantly ionic, the crystal structures may be thought of as
being composed of electrically charged ions instead of atoms. The
metallic ions, or cations, are positively charged, because they
have given up their valence electrons to the nonmetallic ions, or
anions, which are negatively charged.Two characteristics of the
component ions in crystalline ceramic materials influence the
crystal structure: the magnitude of the electrical charge on each
of the component ions,and the relative sizes of the cations and
anions. With regard to the first characteristic, the crystal must be
electrically neutral; that is, all the cation positive charges must be
balanced by an equal number of anion negative charges.

The second criterion involves the sizes or ionic radii of the

cations and anions, and respectively.Because the metallic
elements give up electrons when ionized, cations are
ordinarily smaller than anions, and, consequently, the ratio
rc/ra is less than unity. Each cation prefers to have as many
nearest-neighbor anions as possible. The anions also desire a
maximum number of cation nearest neighbors.

STABLE AND UNSTABLE ANIONCATION

COORDINATION CONFIGURATIONS. RED CIRCLES
REPRESENT ANIONS; BLUE CIRCLES DENOTE CATIONS.

The coordination numbers and nearest-neighbor geometries for

various ratios are presented in Table 12.2. For ratios less than
0.155, the very small cation is bonded to two anions in a linear
manner. If has a value between 0.155 and 0.225,the coordination
number for the cation is 3.This means each cation is surrounded
by three anions in the form of a planar equilateral triangle, with
the cation located in the center.The coordination number is 4 for
between 0.225 and 0.414; the cation is located at the center of a
tetrahedron, with anions at each of the four corners. For between
0.414 and 0.732, the cation may be thought of as being situated
at the center of an octahedron surrounded by six anions, at each
corner, as also shown in the table.

AX-TYPE CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

Some of the common ceramic materials are those in which there

are equal numbers of cations and anions.These are often
referred to as AX compounds,where A denotes the cation and X
the anion. There are several different crystal structures for AX
compounds;each is normally named after a common material
that assumes the particular structure.

ROCK SALT
STRUCTURE
Perhaps the most common AX crystal structure is the
sodium chloride (NaCl),or rock salt, type. The coordination
number for both cations and anions is 6, and therefore the
cationanion radius ratio is between approximately 0.414
and 0.732. A unit cell for this crystal structure is generated
from an FCC arrangement of anions with one cation situated
at the cube center and one at the center of each of the 12
cube edges.An equivalent crystal structure results from a
face-centered arrangement of cations.Thus, the rock salt
crystal structure may be thought of as two interpenetrating
FCC lattices, one composed of the cations, the other of
anions. Some of the common ceramic materials that form
with this crystal structure are NaCl, MgO, MnS, LiF, and FeO.

CESIUM CHLORIDE STRUCTURE

The figure shows a unit cell for the
cesium chloride (CsCl) crystal
structure; the coordination number is 8
for both ion types.The anions are
located at each of the corners of a
cube,whereas the cube center is a
single cation. Interchange of anions
with cations, and vice versa, produces
the same crystal structure.This is not a
BCC crystal structure because ions of
two different kinds are involved

ZINC BLENDE STRUCTURE

A third AX structure is one in which the coordination
number is 4; that is, all ions are tetrahedrally
coordinated. This is called the zinc blende, or
sphalerite, structure, after the mineralogical term for
zinc sulfide (ZnS).A unit cell is presented in the figure;
all corner and face positions of the cubic cell are
occupied by S atoms, while the Zn atoms fill interior
tetrahedral positions.An equivalent structure results if
Zn and S atom positions are reversed. Thus, each Zn
atom is bonded to four S atoms,and vice versa.Most
often the atomic bonding is highly covalent in
compounds exhibiting this crystal structure, which
include ZnS, ZnTe, and SiC.

-TYPE CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

If the charges on the cations and anions are not the same,a
compound can exist with the chemical formula where m and/or An
example would be for which a common crystal structure is found
in fluorite The ionic radii ratio rc/ra for is about 0.8 which,
according to Table 12.2,gives a coordination number of 8. Calcium
ions are positioned at the centers of cubes, with fluorine ions at

the corners. The chemical formula shows that there are only half
as many ions as ions, and therefore the crystal structure would be
similar to CsCl , except that only half the center cube positions are
occupied by ions. One unit cell consists of eight cubes, as
indicated in the figure. Other compounds that have this crystal
structure include Zr (cubic), U, and Th

-TYPE CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

It is also possible for ceramic compounds to have more than

one type of cation; for two types of cations (represented by A
and B), their chemical formula may be designated as Barium
titanate having both and cations, falls into this
classification.This material has a perovskite crystal structure
and rather interesting electromechanical properties. At
temperatures above 120C the crystal structure is cubic. A
unit cell of this structure is shown in th figure; ions are
situated at all eight corners of the cube and a single is at the
cube center, with ions located at the center of each of the six
faces.

CRYSTAL STRUCTURES FROM THE

CLOSE PACKING OF ANIONS

It may be recalled that for metals, close-packed planes of

atoms stacked on one another generate both FCC and HCP
crystal structures. Similarly, a number of ceramic crystal
structures may be considered in terms of close-packed planes
of ions, as well as unit cells. Ordinarily, the close-packed
planes are composed of the large anions. As these planes are
stacked atop each other, small interstitial sites are created
between them in which the cations may reside.

These interstitial positions exist in two different

types. Four atoms (three in one plane, and a
single one in the adjacent plane) surround one
type; this is termed a tetrahedral position, since
straight lines drawn from the centers of the
surrounding spheres form a four-sided
tetrahedron. The other site type in the figure,
involves six ion spheres, three in each of the two
planes. Because an octahedron is produced by
joining these six sphere centers, this site is called
an octahedral position. Thus, the coordination
numbers for cations filling tetrahedral and
octahedral positions are 4 and 6, respectively.
Furthermore, for each of these anion spheres, one
octahedral and two tetrahedral positions will exist

CERAMIC DENSITY COMPUTATIONS

It is possible to compute the theoretical density of a crystalline

ceramic material from unit cell data in a manner similar to that
in metals. In this case the density may be determined as
follows:

SILICATE CERAMICS
Silicates are materials composed primarily of silicon and oxygen,the two most
abundant elements in the earths crust; consequently, the bulk of soils, rocks,
clays, and sand come under the silicate classification. Rather than characterizing
the crystal structures of these materials in terms of unit cells, it is more
convenient to use various arrangements of an Sitetrahedron. Each atom of silicon
is bonded to four oxygen atoms,which are situated at the corners of the
tetrahedron; the silicon atom is positioned at the center. Since this is the basic
unit
of the silicates, it is often treated as a negatively charged entity. Often the
silicates are not considered to be ionic because there is a significant covalent
character to the interatomic SiO bonds, which are directional and relatively
strong. Regardless of the character of the SiO bond, there is a -4 charge
associated with every Si tetrahedron, since each of the four oxygen atoms
requires an extra electron to achieve a stable electronic structure. Various silicate
structures arise from the different ways in which the units can be combined into
one-, two-, and three-dimensional arrangements.

SILICA
Chemically, the most simple silicate
material is silicon dioxide, or silica
Structurally, it is a three-dimensional
network that is generated when every
corner oxygen atom in each tetrahedron
is shared by adjacent tetrahedra. Thus,
the material is electrically neutral and all
atoms have stable electronic structures.
Under these circumstances the ratio of Si
to O atoms is 1:2, as indicated by the
chemical formula.

If these tetrahedra are arrayed in a regular

and ordered manner, a crystalline structure is
formed. There are three primary polymorphic
crystalline forms of silica: quartz, cristobalite,
and tridymite.Their structures are relatively
complicated, and comparatively open; that is,
the atoms are not closely packed together.As
a consequence, these crystalline silicas have
relatively low densities; for example,at room
temperature quartz has a density of only The
strength of the SiO interatomic bonds is
reflected n a relatively high melting
temperature, 1710C.

CARBON

Carbon is an element that exists in various polymorphic forms,

as well as in the amorphous state.This group of materials does
not really fall within any one of the traditional metal, ceramic,
polymer classification schemes. However, we choose to
discuss these materials in this chapter since graphite, one of
the polymorphic forms, is sometimes classified as a ceramic,
and, in addition, the crystal structure of diamond, another
polymorph, is similar to that of zinc blende. Treatment of the
carbon materials will focus on the structures and
characteristics of graphite, diamond, the fullerenes, and
carbon nanotubes, and, in addition, on their current and
potential uses.

DIAMOND
The physical properties of diamond make it an
extremely attractive material. It is extremely hard
(the hardest known material) and has a very low
electrical conductivity; these characteristics are due
to its crystal structure and the strong interatomic
covalent bonds. Furthermore, it has an unusually
high thermal conductivity for a nonmetallic
material, is optically transparent in the visible and
infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum,
and has a high index of refraction. Relatively large
diamond single crystals are used as gem stones.
Industrially, diamonds are utilized to grind or cut
other softer materials.

GRAPHITE

The graphite structure is composed of layers of

hexagonally arranged carbon atoms; within the
layers, each carbon atom is bonded to three
coplanar neighbor atoms by strong covalent bonds.
The fourth bonding electron participates in a weak
van der Waals type of bond between the layers. As
a consequence of these weak interplanar bonds,
interplanar cleavage is facile,which gives rise to
the excellent lubricative properties of graphite.
Also, the electrical conductivity is relatively high in
crystallographic directions parallel to the
hexagonal sheets.

FULLERENES
Another polymorphic form of carbon was discovered in
1985. It exists in discrete molecular form and consists of
a hollow spherical cluster of sixty carbon atoms; a single
molecule is denoted by Each molecule is composed of
groups of carbon atoms that are bonded to one another
to form both hexagon (six-carbon atom) and pentagon
(five-carbon atom) geometrical configurations. One such
molecule, is found to consist of 20 hexagons and 12
pentagons, which are arrayed such that no two
pentagons share a common side; the molecular surface
thus exhibits the symmetry of a soccer ball. The material
composed of molecules is known as
buckminsterfullerene, named in honor of R. Buckminster
Fuller, who invented the geodesic dome; each is simply a
molecular replica of such a dome, which is often referred
to as buckyball for short. The term fullerene is used to
denote the class of materials that are composed of this
type of molecule.

IMPERFECTIONS IN CERAMICS

Atomic defects involving host atoms may exist in ceramic compounds.As with metals,
both vacancies and interstitials are possible; however, since ceramic materials contain
ions of at least two kinds, defects for each ion type may occur. For example, in NaCl, Na
interstitials and vacancies and Cl interstitials and vacancies may exist. It is highly
improbable that there would be appreciable concentrations of anion interstitials. The
anion is relatively large, and to fit into a small interstitial position, substantial strains on
the surrounding ions must be introduced. The expression defect structure is often used
to designate the types and concentrations of atomic defects in ceramics. Because the
atoms exist as charged ions, when defect structures are considered, conditions of
electroneutrality must be maintained. Electroneutrality is the state that exists when
there are equal numbers of positive and negative charges from the ions. As a
consequence, defects in ceramics do not occur alone. One such type of defect involves a
cationvacancy and a cationinterstitial pair. This is called a Frenkel defect. It might be
thought of as being formed by a cation leaving its normal position and moving into an
interstitial site. There is no change in charge because the cation maintains the same
positive charge as an interstitial.

Schottky defect

This defect might be thought of as

being created by removing one
cation and one anion from the
interior of the crystal and then
placing them both at an external
surface.Since both cations and
anions have the same charge,and
since for every anion vacancy there
exists a cation vacancy, the charge
neutrality of the crystal is
maintained.

Frenkel defect

One such type of defect involves a cationvacancy and a cation

interstitial pair. It might be thought of as being formed by a cation
leaving its normal position and moving into an interstitial site. There
is no change in charge because the cation maintains the same
positive charge as an interstitial.

For Frenkel defects, the number of cation-vacancy/cationinterstitial

defect pairs ( ) depends on temperature according to the following
expression:

Where represents the frenkel defect energy of

formation

k represents Boltzmanns Constant ( 8.62 x 10^-5

eV/K)

T represents the absolute temperature

Similarly,for Schottky defects,in an AX-type compound,the

equilibrium number ( ) is a function of temperature as

Where represents the schottky defect

energy of formation.

IMPURITIES IN CERAMICS

Impurity atoms can form solid solutions in ceramic materials

much as they do in metals. Solid solutions of both
substitutional and interstitial types are possible. For an
interstitial, the ionic radius of the impurity must be relatively
small in comparison to the anion. Since there are both anions
and cations, a substitutional impurity will substitute for the
host ion to which it is most similar in an electrical sense: if the
impurity atom normally forms a cation in a ceramic material, it
most probably will substitute for a host cation. For example, in
sodium chloride, impurity and ions would most likely
substitute for and ions, respectively.