A new ceramic material that shows remarkable resistance to high temperature has been made by researchers in Germany.

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Martin Jansen and Thomas Jäschke from the Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung made a Si/B/N/C ceramic that they say could be used in high temperature engines for aerospace and aviation due to its very high resistance to temperature.

Jansen used a new molecular precursor containing borazine to make the ceramic material. It can withstand temperatures of 2000ºC in an inert atmosphere and at least 1300ºC in pure oxygen. Borazine rings from the precursor are trapped in the covalent network of the ceramic. They are extremely stiff and reinforce the material, helping it to withstand oxidation at very high temperatures.
 
Aerospace engines require materials that are durable under extreme conditions. Jansen said 'for applications at high temperatures under atmospheric conditions like in heat engines, this new class of amorphous ceramics is superior to commonly used crystalline materials.'

'In the future, Si/B/N/C ceramics may replace certain high temperature materials and will greatly extend the manageable temperatures in heat engines and turbines,' said Jansen. 'A challenge for the future is to scale-up the materials syntheses, which have to be both economically and ecologically sustainable.'

Ivan Parkin, an expert in inorganic materials from University College London, UK said 'the production of lightweight amorphous materials with oxidation resistance is an important area of research for new structural materials.'

Ruth Needham