The aim of the course is to provide students with the basics for understanding the physical chemistry of ceramic and metallic materials in terms of structure-property relations. Specifically, at the end of the course, the student will be able to discuss phase diagrams (up to three components), crystalline structures, and mechanical properties of metallic and ceramic materials.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of classical thermodynamics, crystallography and solid state chemistry, as provided by the three-year undergraduate degree courses.
Teaching Methods
Frontal, interactive lessons, featured on screen slides and blackboard insights. The second module has a seminar section whose content is discussed and agreed upon with the students from time to time.
Assessment Methods
The examination is oral and focuses on the topics discussed in both modules. In particular, the student is required to demonstrate the ability to discuss phase diagrams, crystalline structures, and structure-property relations of the materials dealt with in the course.
Texts
Slides of the lecture are availble to the students, as well as references to review papers from the scientific literature
Contents
The first part deals with the microscopic aspects of the basic properties of metals. In particular, the role of crystal structure, microstructure, and defect chemistry in determining the mechanical properties will be discussed. Then, the microscopic mechanisms of the main industrial processes for metal treatment, as cold working, annealing, and secondary phase precipitation will be illustrated. Finally, examples of application in the context of metallic systems of considerable technological interest will be presented. The second part of the course deals with ceramic materials, discussing first the stability conditions starting from the free energy - composition curves at different temperatures. Then, a review of the structures of main interest to ceramic materials (spinel, perovskite, rutile, garnet, pyrochlore, fluorite, zircon, and related structures) will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on the distinction between short and long-range order. Disordered compounds are then treated mainly with regard to the techniques for advanced structural investigation, ending with a discussion of the local structure of amorphous ceramics.
Course Language
Italian
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