Hydrothermal crystallization is a promising technology for the low temperature crystallization of ceramics for a wide range of materials in powder, film and single crystal form. The reaction conditions used for hydrothermal reactions present promising opportunities for developing "green processes" where industrial ecology can be practiced. Perspectives from the standpoint of energy, air and water pollution will be discussed to appreciate the innovations that this technology brings to manufacturing. Materials discovery with this technology has been traditionally based on trial and error empirical methods. Activities at Rutgers focus on the development of engineering principles to guide designed experimentation in a broad range of materials fields that cover structural, photonic, electronic and biomedical applications. This talk will survey many of the applications being developed in our laboratory, many which focus on nanotechnology. Our research is centered around the use of a simulation engine based on the application of fundamental electrolyte thermodynamic principles to derive phase diagrams. These diagrams define the phase space over which designed experimentation can be used both to validate the thermochemical model and to find the appropriate reaction conditions for synthesizing phase-pure ceramic materials. Reactions known to only proceed at elevated temperatures and pressures can be engineered to be operate at low temperatures (e.g., <20 C) yet proceed in times as short as 30 s. Processes such as these are in stark contrast to traditional methods for ceramic processing that use high reaction temperatures and long reaction times. In addition, reaction environments can be engineered to effect controlled crystallization to control particle size and morphology thereby eliminating the need to use energy-consuming milling as a means of particle size control. From the standpoint of coatings, materials can be deposited from aqueous solution instead of high temperature plasma processing or kiln firing.

Print page