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Chemical synthesis of advanced ceramic materials
Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 119 (1990) 119 North-Holland
119
Book Review C H E M I C A L S Y N T H E S I S O F ADVANCED C E R A M I C M A T E R I A L S
(David Segal, published by Cambridge University Press © 1989, US$59.50) L.C. K L E I N Department of Ceramics, Box 909, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
This book comes just in time. Many curricula in Materials Science and Ceramics are being revised to place proper emphasis in processing, in completing the p r o c e s s i n g - s t r u c t u r e - p r o p e r t i e s performance relationships. As with any change in curriculum, the need for textbooks, especially at the graduate level, becomes an issue. Fortunately, this book fills the need for a textbook in ceramic processing with a match in content as if it had been made to order. By coincidence, a course was being instituted in the Fall of 1989 at Rutgers to include such topics as sol-gel processing, hydrothermal synthesis, polymer pyrolysis and gas-phase reactions. At the time it was being organized, it was necessary to use Conference Proceedings and edited volumes because no textbook existed. While research papers and primary sources are essential to a graduate course, finding a coherent set of background articles or monographs is rarely satisfactory. This book by David Segal resolves the issue of background material and fills an immediate need. Consequently, a textbook in this area performs two functions. It acknowledges that the treatment of advanced ceramic processing warrants a textbook so that it can assume its place in the curriculum. Second, it provides an outline with a rigorous treatment of the chemistry behind the advanced
0022-3093/90/$03.50 © Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)
processes that can be enhanced in developing a course. The author draws on his experience at Harwell Laboratory. His treatment of the synthesis of nuclear fuels is particularly complete. He reviews the development of chemical synthetic routes in the context of nuclear fuels to emphasize that so much of what is now called sol-gel processing has its history in nuclear fuels. The book is well illustrated with m a n y examples of commercial products. There are also tables of physical properties and selected characteristics of chemically synthesized powders and materials. The reference lists for the chapters, that are collected at the end of the book, are extensive and make it possible to supplement the readings in the book. The references represent a wide range of sources, from refereed journals to product bulletins. This book will not take the place of Conference Proceedings such as 'Ultrastructure Processing' or 'Better Ceramics through Chemistry'. However, this book might be considered required reading for those who want to participate actively in such conferences. David Segal should be congratulated for covering in 150 pages or so enough chemistry to make what is covered in the Conferences mentioned above comprehensible to almost anyone involved in ceramic processing.
119
Book Review C H E M I C A L S Y N T H E S I S O F ADVANCED C E R A M I C M A T E R I A L S
(David Segal, published by Cambridge University Press © 1989, US$59.50) L.C. K L E I N Department of Ceramics, Box 909, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
This book comes just in time. Many curricula in Materials Science and Ceramics are being revised to place proper emphasis in processing, in completing the p r o c e s s i n g - s t r u c t u r e - p r o p e r t i e s performance relationships. As with any change in curriculum, the need for textbooks, especially at the graduate level, becomes an issue. Fortunately, this book fills the need for a textbook in ceramic processing with a match in content as if it had been made to order. By coincidence, a course was being instituted in the Fall of 1989 at Rutgers to include such topics as sol-gel processing, hydrothermal synthesis, polymer pyrolysis and gas-phase reactions. At the time it was being organized, it was necessary to use Conference Proceedings and edited volumes because no textbook existed. While research papers and primary sources are essential to a graduate course, finding a coherent set of background articles or monographs is rarely satisfactory. This book by David Segal resolves the issue of background material and fills an immediate need. Consequently, a textbook in this area performs two functions. It acknowledges that the treatment of advanced ceramic processing warrants a textbook so that it can assume its place in the curriculum. Second, it provides an outline with a rigorous treatment of the chemistry behind the advanced
0022-3093/90/$03.50 © Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)
processes that can be enhanced in developing a course. The author draws on his experience at Harwell Laboratory. His treatment of the synthesis of nuclear fuels is particularly complete. He reviews the development of chemical synthetic routes in the context of nuclear fuels to emphasize that so much of what is now called sol-gel processing has its history in nuclear fuels. The book is well illustrated with m a n y examples of commercial products. There are also tables of physical properties and selected characteristics of chemically synthesized powders and materials. The reference lists for the chapters, that are collected at the end of the book, are extensive and make it possible to supplement the readings in the book. The references represent a wide range of sources, from refereed journals to product bulletins. This book will not take the place of Conference Proceedings such as 'Ultrastructure Processing' or 'Better Ceramics through Chemistry'. However, this book might be considered required reading for those who want to participate actively in such conferences. David Segal should be congratulated for covering in 150 pages or so enough chemistry to make what is covered in the Conferences mentioned above comprehensible to almost anyone involved in ceramic processing.