The present invention relates to a green body, a pre-ceramic body and a ceramic body based on metal oxide particles, in particular zirconium oxide. The present invention also relates to the method of producing said materials and to the use thereof, in particular in the field of dentistry.

A cubic boron nitride sintered material comprising cubic boron nitride grains, a binder phase, and a void, in which a percentage of the cubic boron nitride grains based on the total of the cubic boron nitride grains and the binder phase is 40 vol % to 70 vol %, a percentage of the binder phase based on the total of the cubic boron nitride grains and the binder phase is 30 vol % to 60 vol %, the binder phase includes 10 vol % to 100 vol % of aluminum oxide grains, an average grain size of the aluminum oxide grains is 50 to 250 nm, the cubic boron nitride sintered material comprises 0.001 vol % to 0.100 vol % of one or more first voids, and at least one portion of each of the first voids is in contact with the aluminum oxide grains.

A dielectric composition includes dielectric particles. At least one of the dielectric particles include a main phase and a secondary phase. The main phase has a main component of barium titanate. The secondary phase exists inside the main phase and has a higher barium content than the main phase.

Thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite material that includes at least one component consisting of nanocrystals. A TE nanocomposite material in accordance with the present invention can include, but is not limited to, multiple nanocrystalline structures, nanocrystal networks or partial networks, or multi-component materials, with some components forming connected interpenetrating networks including nanocrystalline networks. The TE nanocomposite material can be in the form of a bulk solid having semiconductor nanocrystallites that form an electrically conductive network within the material. In other embodiments, the TE nanocomposite material can be a nanocomposite thermoelectric material having one network of p-type or n-type semiconductor domains and a low thermal conductivity semiconductor or dielectric network or domains separating the p-type or n-type domains that provides efficient phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining the electrical properties of the p-type or n-type semiconductor.

A diamond polycrystal includes diamond grains, the diamond polycrystal including a cubic diamond and a 6H type hexagonal diamond, wherein the cubic diamond and the 6H type hexagonal diamond exist in the same or different diamond grains, and a ratio Ab.sub.1/Ab.sub.2 is more than or equal to 0.4 and less than or equal to 1, Ab.sub.1 representing a maximum value of absorption in a range of more than or equal to 1200 cm.sup.−1 and less than or equal to 1300 cm.sup.−1 in an infrared absorption spectrum, Ab.sub.2 representing a maximum value of absorption in a range of more than or equal to 1900 cm.sup.−1 and less than or equal to 2100 cm.sup.−1.

The invention provides a process for manufacturing ceramics and refractories comprising the steps of producing a porous powder comprising nanograin sized particles wherein the particles have a Young’s modulus value that is smaller in value compared to the same crystalline material; compacting and processing the powder such that the powder forms a stable homogeneous composite; and sintering the composite for a time and temperature to lead to uniform shrinkage of the composite to make a dense homogenous material.

A lithium-doped silicon oxide composite anode material with high initial Coulombic efficiency and a preparation method are provided, which relates to the field of anode materials for lithium batteries. The material includes nano-silicon, lithium silicate and a conductive carbon layer. A diffraction peak intensity of Li.sub.2Si.sub.2O.sub.5(111) with 2θ being 24.7±0.2° in an XRD pattern of the lithium-doped silicon oxide composite anode material is I1, a diffraction peak intensity of Li.sub.2SiO.sub.3(111) with 2θ being 26.8±0.3° in the XRD pattern is I2, and I1/I2<0.25. The material provided in the present invention has a specific phase composition ratio, thereby achieving the effect of high initial Coulombic efficiency and high specific capacity.

The present application discloses and claims a method to make a flexible ceramic fibers (Flexiramics™) and polymer composites. The resulting composite has an improved mechanical strength (tensile) when compared with the Flexiramics™ respective the nanofibers alone. Additionally a composite has better properties than the polymer alone such as lower fire retardancy, higher thermal conductivity and lower thermal expansion. Several different polymers can be used, both thermosets and thermoplastics. Flexiramics™ has unique physical characteristic and the composite materials can be used for numerous industrial and laboratory applications.

Thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite material that includes at least one component consisting of nanocrystals. A TE nanocomposite material in accordance with the present invention can include, but is not limited to, multiple nanocrystalline structures, nanocrystal networks or partial networks, or multi-component materials, with some components forming connected interpenetrating networks including nanocrystalline networks. The TE nanocomposite material can be in the form of a bulk solid having semiconductor nanocrystallites that form an electrically conductive network within the material. In other embodiments, the TE nanocomposite material can be a nanocomposite thermoelectric material having one network of p-type or n-type semiconductor domains and a low thermal conductivity semiconductor or dielectric network or domains separating the p-type or n-type domains that provides efficient phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining the electrical properties of the p-type or n-type semiconductor.

The present invention relates to a dental zirconia mill blank comprising a porous zirconia material, the porous zirconia material comprising Zr oxide, Y oxide, optionally Al oxide, Bi oxide, Tb oxide, Er oxide, Cr oxide, the porous zirconia material not comprising Fe oxide calculated as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 of more than 0.01 wt. %, Mn oxide calculated as MnO.sub.2 of more than 0.005 wt. %, Co oxide calculated as Co.sub.2O.sub.3 of more than 0.005 wt. %, wt. % with respect to the weight of the porous zirconia material. The invention also relates to a process of producing such a dental zirconia mill blank and a dental restoration which can be machined from the dental zirconia mill blank. Further, the invention relates to a kit of parts comprising such a dental zirconia mill blank and a dental cement.