Fracture toughness improvements of dental ceramic through use of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin-film coatings.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate strengthening mechanisms of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin film coatings as a viable method for improving fracture toughness of all-ceramic dental restorations.

Methods: Bars (2mm×2mm×15mm, n=12) were cut from porcelain (ProCAD, Ivoclar-Vivadent) blocks and wet-polished through 1200-grit using SiC abrasive. A Vickers indenter was used to induce flaws with controlled size and geometry.

Rapid fabrication of nanostructured surfaces using nanocoining.

A new process for creating high quality ordered arrays of nanofeatures called nanocoining is presented. A diamond die with a structured area of nanofeatures (1600 features in a 20 μm × 20 μm area) is used to physically transfer features to a mold surface. The die is attached to an actuator capable of producing an elliptical tool-path, the dimensions of which are process dependent and enable the die to match velocity with the moving mold during contact to avoid dragging the nanostructured area along the mold surface (smear).

Self-assembled three-dimensional Cu-Ge nanoweb composite.

The inexpensive combination of cryogenically milled Cu(3)Ge powders sonochemically processed in a standard ultrasonic cleaner has led to the prototype of a heretofore undescribed class of material. This prototype is a nanostructured composite composed of 4.5 nm diameter Cu nanocrystals embedded in a three-dimensional (3D) amorphous CuGeO(3) polyhedron web matrix.