Shaping of Nanostructured Materials or Coatings through Spark Plasma Sintering

In the field of advanced ceramics, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is known to be very efficient for superfast and full densification of ceramic nanopowders. This property is attributed to the simultaneous application of high density dc pulsed current and load, even though the sintering mechanisms involved remain unclear. In the first part of the paper, the mechanisms involved during SPS of two insulating oxide nanopowders (Al2O3 and Y2O3) are discussed while in the second part illustrations of the potential of SPS will be given for (i) Consolidation of mesoporous or unstable nanomaterials like SBA-15 or biomimetic apatite, respectively; (ii) Densification of core (BT or BST)/shell (SiO2 or Al2O3) nanoparticles with limited or controlled reaction at the interface. (iii) In-situ preparation of surface-tailored Fe–FeAl2O4–Al2O3 nanocomposites, and finally (iv) One-step preparation of multilayer materials like a complete thermal barrier system on single crystal Ni-based superalloy.