Aluminum oxide is the chemical formula for alumina, a substance made of aluminum and oxygen. It is precisely referred to as aluminum oxide and is the most frequently occurring of some aluminum oxides. In addition to being known as alumina, it may also go by the names aloxide, aloxite, or alundum, depending on its form and use. This article focuses on alumina’s application in the ceramic field.
Armor
Some body armors use alumina ceramic plates, commonly in conjunction with aramid or UHMWPE backing, to obtain effectiveness against most rifle threats. However, it is not considered to be of military quality. Additionally, it serves to fortify alumina glass against the impact of .50 BMG bullets.
Biomedical Applications
The biomedical sector heavily uses alumina ceramics due to their superior biocompatibility and durability against wear and corrosion. Alumina ceramic serves as the material for dental implants, joint replacements, and other medical equipment.
Abrasive
Many industrial abrasive materials frequently use alumina due to its exceptional strength and hardness. On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, its naturally occurring form, corundum, rates a 9—just below diamond. Similar to diamonds, one can coat alumina to prevent abrasion. Clockmakers and watchmakers use Diamantine, in its purest powdered (white) form, as a superior polishing abrasive.
Insulating
Alumina is a superb insulator, making it suitable for use in high-temperature and high-voltage applications. It is used as a substrate (silicon on sapphire) and a tunnel barrier in integrated circuits to fabricate superconducting devices such as single-electron transistors, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), and superconducting qubits.
Grinding
The ceramics sector also uses alumina as a grinding medium. Alumina is the perfect material to utilize in grinding applications due to its hardness and wear resistance. Ball mills, vibratory mills, and other grinding machinery use alumina as a grinding medium.
Conclusion
Although alumina is primarily known for its use in aluminum production, it also holds significant importance in numerous ceramic fields. It is an ideal material for these applications because of its high melting point, outstanding thermal and mechanical properties, insulating properties, wear resistance, and biocompatibility.
