Microwave sintering of nanostructured ceramic materials

Experimental works devoted to studies of the sintering processes of ceramic and composite materials upon heating by microwave radiation have been reviewed. Since the above processes are presently considered to comprise one of the most promising methods of obtaining bulk articles with nanosized structure, special attention has been given to works in which the microwave heating application made it possible to obtain high-density materials while preserving an average grain size of about 100 nm. Also, a significant part of this review is related to studies of the microwave-field nonthermal effect on mass-transfer processes in a polycrystalline solid. The prospects of purposefully using the electromagnetic field effect to obtain nanostructured materials with predetermined properties have been discussed. © 2011 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.