OREANDA-NEWS  SibFU scientists have obtained a prototype of a high-strength material based on zirconium dioxide. The authors of the development believe that it can be used to replace imported raw materials in the manufacture of implants, as well as some parts of mining equipment and microelectronics, the university's press service told RIA Novosti.

The ceramic material zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), from which dental implants, microelectronics and mining equipment parts are made, is obtained from a natural mineral of greenish or yellow color of baddeleyite. There are deposits of baddeleyite in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, which makes it possible to partially or completely replace imported zirconium dioxide with domestic ones, according to scientists at the Institute of Engineering Physics and Radioelectronics of the Siberian Federal University (SFU).

"This is an import substitution project. Today, a limited number of companies produce high-purity zirconium dioxide in the world. It is mainly used for the manufacture of dental implants. We are interested in creating our own material that can become a raw material for domestic medical products, including dentistry and orthopedic surgery," said Igor Karpov, head of the research and Head of the UNESCO Department of New Materials and Technologies at SibFU.

According to the scientist, it is not enough to obtain high-purity zirconium dioxide powder, it is also necessary to stabilize its phase composition and properties. The fact is that the most sought-after durable phases of this material are formed at temperatures above 1200 ℃, and when they cool down, the required properties are quickly lost. To "fix" the result of heating, you need to fix the material, for example, with yttrium oxide.