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Nano-sized polymer-assisted cold sintering and recycling of ceramic composites

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Abstract

Cold sintering is an emerging technology that significantly reduces sintering temperatures by approximately an order of magnitude, down to about 100–200°C. This reduction of processing temperature enables the co-sintering and integration of dissimilar materials, such as ceramics and polymers, into unprecedented composites, where the low-energy consumption densification provides an opportunity for recycling. Here, we cold sintered barium titanate (BaTiO3)-polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ceramic-polymer composites, demonstrating that nano-sized PTFE polymer powders facilitate co-sintering and enable the recycling of ceramic composites. This approach offers an opportunity for reusing and re-processing ceramic components, thereby promoting sustainability through waste reduction and energy savings.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation FMSG (2134643).

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation FMSG (2134643).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Harold & Inge Marcus Department of Industrial Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Juchen Zhang & Hongtao Sun

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Enrique D. Gomez

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Enrique D. Gomez

  4. Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Enrique D. Gomez & Hongtao Sun

Authors
  1. Juchen Zhang
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  2. Enrique D. Gomez
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  3. Hongtao Sun
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Contributions

JZ: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing—original draft. EDG: Conceptualization, Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition. HS: Conceptualization, Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Enrique D. Gomez or Hongtao Sun.

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Zhang, J., Gomez, E.D. & Sun, H. Nano-sized polymer-assisted cold sintering and recycling of ceramic composites. MRS Communications (2024). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00524-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00524-9

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