Hydrothermal crystallization of ceramics

Abstract

In broad terms, hydrothermal synthesis is a technology for crystallizing materials (chemical compounds) directly from aqueous solution by adept control of thermodynamic variables ( temperature, pressure and composition). The objective of this chapter is to introduce the field of hydrothermal materials synthesis and slow how understanding solution thermodynamics of the aqueous medium can be used for engineering hydrothermal crystallization processes. In the first section, we will focus on hydrothermal synthesis as a materials synthesis technology by providing history, process definitions, technological merits and comments on its current implementation in industry. In the second section, we will describe how thermodynamic modeling is being developed as an engineering tool to predict equilibrium phase assemblages and use this predictive power as an engineering tool for development of hydrothermal technology for materials synthesis.