Metastable alumina from theory


The figureto the left displays a scanning electron micrograph of CVD-coated cemented-carbide cutting-tool insert, including, from bottom to top, the WC/Co substrate, layers of TiC, Al2O3, and TiN. The Al2O3 is in the kappa phase, the atomic structure of which has been determined theoretically from first principles. The figure to the right shows a projection on (130) of a slice of the DFT-computed bulk structure of kappa-Al2O3. To read more, look up J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 82, 1365 (1999) by Y. Yourdshahyan et al.