European Ceramics Centre

We measured the dielectric constants of alumina ceramic samples with non-destructive THz time-domain spectroscopy. Using an effective medium approximation, we demonstrated that the relative permittivity can be used to evaluate the porous alumina samples, with porosity fractions ranging from 0% to 20% per volume. This result can be used to control sample porosity, a key material parameter related to mechanical strength under compression load, hardness and wear resistance, or thermal stability.

This study aims to explore geopolymer binders and mortars based on local Moroccan clays and sands as coatings for the restoration of historical monuments in Morocco. For this, five substrates, one geopolymer binder, and two geopolymer mortars were investigated. The characterization of substrates reveals differences in terms of pH value, capillarity, contact angle, and surface roughness. These differences affect the coating thickness, which also depends on the viscosity, liquid to solid ratio, and granular skeleton of the geopolymer coating. High adhesive strength values (up to 9 MPa) were obtained on limestones. However, these values decreased with the increase of relative humidity. In the case of Fez stone, a stable adhesive strength value (3 MPa) was evidenced for all the coating formulations and at different storage conditions confirming the suitability of coating based on metakaolin, Moroccan clays, and sands for restoration applications.

Ba5CaTi2−xZnxNb8O30 ceramics (x = 0, 0.04, and 0.08) were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method at 1300 °C for 6 hours.

Achieving a precise understanding of nanoscale thermal transport in phase change materials (PCMs), such as Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), is the key of thermal management in nanoelectronics, photonic and neuromorphic applications using non-volatile memories. By resorting to a first-principles approach to calculate the thermal conductivity of amorphous GST, we found that size effects and heat transport via propagative modes persist well beyond extended range order distances typical of disordered network-forming materials. Values obtained are in quantitative agreement with the experimental data, by revealing a strong size dependence of the thermal conductivity down to the 1.7–10 nm range, fully covering the scale of current PCMs-based devices. In particular, a reduction of thermal conductivity as large as 75% occurs for dimensions lying below 2 nm. These results provide a quantitative description of the thermal properties of amorphous GST at the nanoscale and are expected to underpin the development of PCM-based device applications.

The Treignac water is a natural mineral water containing mainly orthosilicic acid. On inert substrates, it forms a silica film with fractal structures which cannot be reproduced in laboratory-reconstituted water. These structures form by condensation of orthosilicic acid monomers, following the Witten–Sander model of diffusion-limited aggregation. On biological surfaces, such as tomato leaves, the Treignac water forms a silica film with a different morphology and devoid of fractal structures. The filmogenic properties of this natural mineral water are here discussed in the context of crop protection, as the silica film can provide a barrier and a platform for the immobilization of elicitors of plant defense responses.

La comparaison des compositions chimiques des pâtes constitutives de neuf plats byzantins, conservés dans les collections du musée national de Céramique de Sèvres, avec celles de pièces archéologiques de référence, permet de réintégrer la plupart des œuvres dans l’ensemble de la production de Chalcis des xiie et xiiie siècles. Pour deux pièces, en revanche, se pose la question de l’authenticité. Les perturbations géochimiques liées à un séjour prolongé des pièces en contexte marin sont également discutées et une méthodologie spécifique est proposée.

Zinc-doped hydroxyapatite (HA + Zn) has aroused increasing interest in bone contact applications, for its capacity to modulate osteoblast activity and for the antibacterial properties of zinc ions. In this study, HA + Zn coatings deposited by the Solution Precursor Plasma Spraying (SPPS) process were characterized. This method employs solution feedstocks providing simple and effective ion doping and resulting in the deposition of lamellae of smaller size than the conventional Atmospheric Plasma Spraying method. After a comprehensive microstructural characterization of the coatings, their bioactivity, cytotoxicity, and antibacterial efficacy were investigated. The coatings' bioactivity was confirmed by soaking them in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF), a commonly-used protocol to evaluate samples' bioactivity in vitro. Further, the coatings were non-cytotoxic against human osteoblast Saos-2-cells and, additionally, they showed antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The HA + Zn coatings obtained showed higher efficacy against the gram-positive S. aureus than against the gram-negative Escherichia coli. These findings demonstrate the potential of the SPPS method for fabricating Zn-doped hydroxyapatite coatings, and show that Zn ions impart antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria.