Researchers develop strong, lightweight cermet material

BEIJING -- Researchers have developed a new type of strong and lightweight cermet biomimetic material with a high damping property.

Light, strong, tough and simultaneously damping materials are highly attractive for a range of applications. Normally, these qualities would be mutually exclusive from each other and achieving a combination of them is no easy task, according to a recent research article published in the journal Materials Today.

Inspired by the structure of natural biological materials such as shells and bones, the researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Science and Technology of China, University of California Berkeley and the ShanghaiTech University selected the materials with both metal and ceramic properties as components to present the cermet material with ultrafine 3D interpenetrating nacre-like structure.

The resulting cermet exhibits a high flexural strength exceeding 1 GPa, exceeding those of most other bulk magnesium and magnesium alloys, ceramics, and their composite materials, as well as high damping capacities and good fracture toughness, said the research article.

The architectural design strategy and the robust fabrication approach may prove to be effective for developing new high-performance cermet materials and are expected to be used in the fields such as aerospace and precision instruments.