Ceramics are not known for deforming in a plastic manner, instead tending to fracture as a response to loading.

Dr Jie Zhang and his team found a method to avoid fracture and dramatically improve the ductility of silicon nitride. In his paper published in Science, he presented an approach for designing deformable covalently bonded silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramics that feature a dual-phase structure with coherent interfaces. Successive bond switching is realized at the coherent interfaces, which facilitates a stress-induced phase transformation and, eventually, generates plastic deformability.

This breakthrough and its industrialization prospect attracted the attention of many research institutions who made job offers to Dr. Zhang Jie. Finally he decided to join the Y-lab in Ningbo and hoped that this achievement would accelerate its application.

To build a world-class structural ceramics research center, to explore fabrication of new ceramic materials, to realize the engineering application of ceramics in aerospace, electronics, medical and other fields... Dr. Zhang Jie has dreamed big, and also hoped that more like-minded researchers could join his team and pursue their ‘new stone age’ dreams.