6075.2:
Development of a ball mill for nano comminution of glasses and glass ceramics
Abstract
This project has the objective to develop a ball mill for wet comminution of hard glasses and glass ceramics to nanosized particles with a mean particle size <100nm (top-down approach).
This top-down approach (comminution of bulk material) is the only way to manufacture ceramic nanoparticles with complex elemental composition (e.g. special glasses consist of up to 8 elements and dopants). The common bottom-up synthesis routes (flame synthesis / pyrolysis / plasma / laser ablation etc.) allow production of ceramic particles consisting of up to 3 elements only.
The development of the mill involves innovative mill design and lining materials for prevention of contamination of the product due to abrasion of metal parts, research on the state of agglomeration of the particles, investigation of the dynamic gap separation for nanoparticles and economic operation of the mill.
The test material for the mill development will be a complex dental glass doped with lanthanides, Y or other heavy metal ions. Such special glasses have a high potential as filling material for dental applications, resulting in ceramic-polymer composites with enhanced chemical resistance, especially against fluorine.