Functional Ceramics

Ceramic materials show a wide variety in chemical, optical and electrical properties. They are used in many different applications, ranging from catalysts, fuel cells, batteries and sensors to solar cells, photo-catalysts and luminescent nanoparticles. This course will treat the basic properties of functional ceramic materials. The following topics will be included: - crystal structures - bonding in inorganic solids - basic electronic structure and properties of semiconductors - defect chemistry including point defects, non-stoichiometry and doping - ionic and electronic charge transport - semiconductor junctions and space charges.