High resolution electron microscopy investigations of interface and other structure defects in some ceramics.

Interface, grain boundary, and other structure defects are the most important structural factors to affect the properties of ceramics materials. The present paper shows the relationship between the properties and those structure features such as grain boundaries, phase boundaries, interfaces, twins, intergrowths, dislocations, point defect aggregates, order-disorder, and other structure defects in different kinds of ceramics materials. At present this research covers: C60, sialon-based ceramics (alpha-sialon/SiC(w) composite, Y-alpha-sialon/beta-sialon composite), high Tc superconductors (YBa2Cu3O7, YBa2Cu4O8, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10), and bioceramics (hydroxyapatite, chlorapatite) and so on. The structure features mentioned above were characterized by high-resolution electron microscopy; so the structure details are at an atomic level and the related physical, chemical, engineering, even biological phenomena can be understood at an atomic and molecular level.