Ceramic ormocers

Note 2 Though it is a commonly used acronym for organically modified ceramic, Ormocer is a registered trademark and as such its terminological use is strongly discouraged. 

If the hydrolyses in organosilicate-polymer systems are carried out with increased amounts of the silicate, bicontinuous phases can be obtained (with the silica and polymer phases interpenetrating one another) [213]. At still-higher concentrations of the silicate, the silica generated becomes the continuous phase, with the polymer dispersed in it. The result is a polymer-modified ceramic, variously called an "ORMOCER" [214,215], "CERAMER" [216,217], or "POLY-CERAM" [218,219]. It is obviously of considerable importance to determine how the elastomeric phase modifies the ceramic in which it is dispersed. 

Also other oxides such as for example Z1O2 were reacted in solution with other organic compounds to form amorphous hybrid composites. The name Ormocers (organically modified ceramics) was then used by Schmidt for these new materials. 

In the same year, 1986, the ormocers were presented to the public. These coatings are sprayed in a thickness of nm onto window glass and darken this when the sun shines on it. In the 1990s, these nanoscale powders were also used in silicate ceramics applied to tiles, sanitaryware and tableware articles or roofing tiles, they make sure that dirt particles caimot attache themselves to the surface. Special compositions even have an anti-bacterial effect. 

The term ormocer derives from organically modified ceramic and these materials were developed at the Fraunhofer Institute, Wurzburg, Germany. Their original use was as speciality coatings for various technical applications, such as protective coatings. 

A. Sivakumar, A. Valiathan, Dental ceramics and ormocer technology - navigating the future Trends Biomater. Artif. Organs 20 (2006) 40 3. 

An alternative approach to conductivity enhancement by crystallinity supression is by the incorporation of inert fillers such as ceramic composites [77]. Another class of materials in which both polymer and organic materials are present are the so-called Ormocers [78] or Ormolytes [79]. These are produced by a sol-gel process in which amino-alkylsilanes are hydrolysed and condensed, and triflic acid (for proton electrolytes) or lithium perchlorate complexed with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (for a Li electrolyte) is incorporated. 

Ormocers (Organically Modified Ceramics) were used by Stoch et al. (1994) in the waterproofing and consolidation of the surface oflimestone and sandstone. Wetting angle, porosity and water absorption were measured prior to and after treatment. 

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