Synthesis of Nanopowders and Consolidation of Nanoceramics of Various Applications Edwin Gevorkyan 1 , Dmitry Sofronov 2 , Sergiy Lavrynenko 3* and Miroslaw Rucki 4 1 Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport, Kharkov, Ukraine 2 State Scientific Institution “Institute for Single Crystals” National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 3 National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, Ukraine 4 Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, Poland Email: s_lavr@yahoo.com Abstract. In the paper, some problems of nanoceramics production are discussed. Some crucial stages in the production cycle are pointed out, among others the nanoscale powder synthesis and the compaction during the sintering. A novel method of hot pressing under the directly applied electric current was proposed. Some examples of advantageous characteristics obtained through the new method were provided. The hot press sintering under the electric current is suitable for the production of structured nanoceramics, cutting tools for industrial applications, filters for industry and the functional nanoceramics like optical elements or biomedical implants. Keywords: Nanoceramics, nanopowder, sintering, compaction. 1 Introduction The nanostructured materials are definitely not new in the ceramic field, since the nature of the minerals employed in formulating the porcelain has resulted in ‘nanoscale’ features (the dimensions below 100 nm) [1]. The development of physical synthesis by gas condensation initiated relatively recent research in the field of purposely nanostructured ceramics [2]. In the last decades, nanostructured materials were found suitable in many advanced technologies such as thermomechanics, aerospace, nuclear power plant and biomedicine [3], especially in form of nanoceramic and nanocomposite coatings [4] or thin films [5]. Preparation of nanomaterials like nanoceramics is a complex process starting from the synthesis of oxide nanoparticles precursors and ending with the sintering [6]. The process involves several major steps: a powder mix production with a bunch of powder and plasticizers for molding material, the formation of the workpiece, drying and calcining the preform, treating the obtained product (mechanical, thermal treatment and metallization). In some applications, the pulsed electrical current was found useful in two-step sintering process of transparent Al 2 O 3 ceramics [7]. The properties of the resulting material to a large extent depend on the characteristics of the nanopowders used, foremost among which are the particle size, polydispersity and purity (contaminations content) [8]. One of the priorities for creating of new nanomaterials with specific functional properties is to search for a fundamentally new and improvement of existing technological solutions in the field of chemical synthesis of nanopowders and their subsequent consolidation in the solid substance. The paper is focused on the effective synthesis and consolidation technologies that may be applied for the sintering of the nanoceramics of various functional properties. 2 Synthesis of Nanopowders Among a wide range of industrial and biomedical applications [9], nanoceramics developed by the authors of this project are suitable for the following ones: 1. Structural nanoceramics: Journal of Advances in Nanomaterials, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2017 https://dx.doi.org/10.22606/jan.2017.23003 153 Copyright © 2017 Isaac Scientific Publishing JAN