Plenary Lecture



PL: Current Problems in Modern Materials Science

Yu.A. Osip'yan

Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences,

Chernogolovka, Moscow, 142432 Russia
 
 

 All materials that are being developed for use in modern science and technology can be conventionally subdivided into structural and functional (smart) materials. The first ones combine high strength with some additional special properties (resistance to high or low temperature, radiation, alternating load, etc.). Therefore, the related scope of research and development involves the problems of high-temperature strength, cold brittleness, radiation resistance, fatigue strength, etc. Physical processes taking place during the service life of these materials are treated in terms of the theories of plastic deformation and strengthening of crystalline materials that are adequately developed and readily applicable. The parameters of structural materials may be improved by using fine-grained and amorphous structures.

The functional materials exhibit the parameters important for technological applications, such as electrical resistance and its temperature coefficients, magnetic permeability and susceptibility, magnetic induction and stored magnetic energy, optical absorption, photoconductivity and photovoltaic effect, superconductivity and critical fields.

For the simplest systems (elements and binary systems), theoretical backgrounds for the properties of the above materials have been developed so far. Interesting combinations of desired properties are often observed in multicomponent systems, which poses new theoretical problems and gives birth to new structural models (e.g., high-temperature superconductivity of cuprate compounds). New functional materials are expected to resolve some technological difficulties.

Some newly developed functional materials are considered with special emphasis on relation between their structure and properties.