Cover Photograph: Grain boundary complexion diagram that conceptualizes the co-existence of complexions and bulk second phases. Reproduced with permissions from Lawrence AK, Kundu A, Harmer MP, Compson C, Atria J, Spreij M. Influence of complexion transitions on microstructure evolution in specialty aluminas. J Am Ceram Soc. 2015;98 (4):1347–1355. DOI: 10.1111/jace.13421 .
Cover Photograph: (a) Schematic diagram of the formation process of ceramic nanofibrous foams, (b-g) SEM images of nanofiber-knitted foams. Huo et al. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16225 .
Cover Photograph: In-situ XRD level plot showing the peak shifts of the C2AHx phases (with 5 ≤ x ≤ 8.2) in a hydrating paste of pure CA2 during pre-curing at 23°C for 60 h with subsequent heating to 60°C. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16314 .
Cover Photograph: Glasses in the Al2O3-SiO2 system are notoriously difficult to form without phase-separation or crystallization, as shown for a composition quenched from the melt along Path A. By instead subjecting alkali aluminosilicate glasses to a poling process under electric-fields at low temperature (Path B), surface depletion layers of the same composition are formed that circumvent these issues, and moreover show unique structural characteristics within the glassy layer. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16405 .
Cover Photograph: Image segmentation process for grain size analysis, with a) original SE micrograph, b) micrograph with traced grain boundaries, c) black and white threshold image and d) final grain count produced by ImageJ. Image Credit: Ms. Jamesa Stokes (The Pennsylvania State University). DOI: 10.1111/jace.16317 .
Cover Photograph: Multiple mechanisms are suspected to be involved when ceramic materials evolve rapidly from powders to fully dense specimens while sintering under externally applied fields. These in turn may vary between different materials as well as across multiple (atomistic to continuum) scales within a material. These mechanisms still remain unknown, but unlocking them will accelerate technological development in areas ranging from manufacturing to electronics, and clean energy. Image Credit: Ella Maru Studio. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16061 .
Cover Photograph: Novel micro-spherical Si3N4 nanowire sponges are synthesized employing carbon-doped silica sol foams with uniform pore distribution and ultrathin wall structure as the reverse templates. Top-left: SEM image of micro-spherical Si3N4 nanowire sponges. Top-middle: SEM image of individual Si3N4 nanowire-weaving microsphere. Top-right: SEM image of the Si3N4 nanowires from the marked section in the single Si3N4 nanowire-weaving microsphere. Bottom-left: High-magnification SEM image of the Si3N4 nanowires. Bottom-middle: TEM image of several Si3N4 nanowires from the sponges. Bottom-right: HRTEM image of the marked section in an individual Si3N4 nanowire. Image Credits: Xiaoyan Zhang, Wenlong Huo, Yugu Chen, and Ke Gan. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16167 .
Cover Photograph: Button type specimen of a thermal barrier coating (TBC) for gas turbine application under test in a burner rig environment. Precursors of calcium-magnesium-aluminosilicates (CMAS) are injected to the flame to form corrosive deposits. The orange coloring indicates atomic emission spectra of dissolved CMAS constituents. Image Credit: Ms. Hiltrud Moitroux (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH). DOI: 10.1111/jace.16465
Cover Photograph: Depiction of the life cycle assessment process of a product including raw material extraction, material processing, manufacturing, assembly, product use, end of life, and transportation. DOI: 10.1111/jace.16712 .
Schematic diagram representing the pathway from a powder assembly to a highly dense ceramic (above 98% density) through the Cold Sintering Process. The microstructure is that of the ferroelectric KDP. See feature article, “Cold Sintering Process: a Novel Technique for Low‐Temperature Ceramic Processing of Ferroelectrics” by Randall et al.
Cover Photograph: Silicon oxycarbides are materials with exciting structural and functional properties and have received increased attention in the glass and ceramic community within the last two decades. Picture credit to Christina Stabler and Emanuel Ionescu. DOI: 10.1111/jace.15932 .
The cover image, by Weirui Chen et al., is based on the Research Article Effective catalytic ozonation for oxalic acid degradation with bimetallic Fe‐Cu‐MCM‐41: operation parameters and mechanism, DOI: 10.1002/jctb.5304 .
The cover image is based on the Research Article Temperature‐dependent transition of crystal phases in the electrospinning process of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) by Dae Eon Jung et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/pi.5895 .
