Recent Advances in Mechanism Research and Methods for Electric-Field-Assisted Sintering of Ceramics

Electric-field-assisted sintering of ceramic materials is under considerable attention during recent years. The current research is reviewed with a focus on mechanism research. Research of the mass transfer mechanisms in flash sintering (FS) is under debate during recent years. The research yields three main proposed mechanisms: nucleation due to movement of charged defects, Joule heating runaway, and electrochemical reactions. These are critically presented and discussed. Unlike FS, the mechanism of field-assisted sintering technologies (FAST) of ceramics is well agreed upon. However, recent studies challenge even this perception with new approaches, which are presented here. New technological and methodological developments in both FS and FAST/spark plasma sintering are also presented.