Chapter One: Introduction

1.1. Historical Perspective

 Early civilizations have been designated by the level of their materials development (Stone Age, Bronze Age,
and Iron Age).
 Early civilizations discovered that the properties of a material could be altered by heat treatments and by the
addition of other substances.
 Over approximately the past 100 years, scientists came to understand the relationships between the structural
elements of materials and their properties.
 The development of many technologies that make our existence so comfortable has been intimately associated
with the accessibility of suitable materials.

1.2. Materials Science and Materials Engineering

 Materials science involves investigating the relationships that exist between the structures and properties of
materials.
 Materials engineering is, on the basis of these structure–property correlations, designing or engineering the
structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties.
 Materials scientist develops or synthesizes new materials.
 Materials engineer creates new products or systems using existing materials, and/or develops techniques for
processing materials.
 The structure of a material usually relates to the arrangement of its internal components:
 Subatomic structure involves electrons within the individual atoms and interactions with their nuclei.
 Atomic structure encompasses the organization of atoms or molecules relative to one another.
 Microscopic structure contains large groups of atoms that are normally agglomerated together, and
can be observed using some type of microscopes.
 Macroscopic structure involves the structural elements that can be sighted with the naked eye.
 A property is a material trait in terms of the kind and magnitude of response to a specific imposed stimulus,
regardless to the material's shape and size.
 Important properties of solid materials may be grouped into six different categories: mechanical, electrical,
thermal, magnetic, optical, and deteriorative.
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 The structure of a material will depend on how it is processed.
 A material’s performance will be a function of its properties.
 The interrelationship between processing, structure, properties, and performance can be depicted in the
following schematic illustration (Fig. 1):

Figure 1: The four components of the materials science and engineering and their interrelationship.

1.3. Why Study Materials Science and Engineering

 It is a problem to select the right material from the thousands that are available (different properties are
required). There are several criteria for the materials selection:
1. In-service conditions (required properties). It may be necessary to trade one characteristic for another.
2. Deterioration of material properties that may occur during service operation.
3. Economics consideration. What will the finished product cost?
 Materials engineers who are familiar with the materials structure, properties, and processing are more
proficient and confident to select the judicious materials for a certain application.

1.4. Classification of Materials

 Based on the chemical makeup and the atomic structure, solid materials are classified into three main
categories metals, ceramics, and polymers. In addition, there are the composites and advanced materials
categories.

1.4.1. Metals

 Metals are composed of one or more metallic elements and nonmetallic elements in relatively small amounts.
 Constituent atoms arranged in a very orderly manner.
 Metals are denser than polymers and ceramics.
 Metals are relatively stiff and strong, very ductile, and are resistant to fracture.
 Metals have large numbers of nonlocalized electrons, which make them extremely good conductors of
electricity and heat, and are not transparent to visible light. Some of the metals (Fe, Co, and Ni) have desirable
magnetic properties.

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1.4.2. Ceramics

 Ceramics are compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements; they are most frequently oxides,
nitrides, and carbides. For example, Al2O3, SiO2, SiC, and Si3N4.
 Traditional ceramics ‫ ـــــ‬those composed of clay minerals (i.e., porcelain), as well as cement and glass.
 Ceramics are relatively stiff and strong, very hard, extremely brittle, and highly susceptible to fracture.
 Newer ceramics are being engineered to have improved resistance fracture.
 Ceramics are typically insulative to the passage of heat and electricity, and are more resistant to high
temperatures and harsh environments than metals and polymers.
 Ceramics may be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and some of the oxide ceramics (e.g., Fe3O4) exhibit
magnetic behavior.

1.4.3. Polymers

 Polymers include the familiar plastic and rubber materials.

 Many of polymers are organic compounds that are chemically based on carbon, hydrogen, and other
nonmetallic elements (i.e., O, N, and Si).
 Polymers have very large molecular structures, often chainlike in nature, that often have a backbone of carbon
atoms.
 Typically, polymers have low densities, low stiffness, and low strength. However, their stiffness and strength
on a per-mass basis are comparable to the metals and ceramics.
 Polymers are extremely ductile and pliable (easily formed into complex shapes).
 Polymers are relatively inert chemically and unreactive in a large number of environments.
 Polymers have a tendency to soften and/or decompose at modest temperatures, which limits their use.
 Polymers have low electrical conductivities and are nonmagnetic.

1.4.4. Composites

 A composite is composed of two (or more) individual materials (metals, ceramics, and polymers).
 A large number of composite types are fabricated to achieve a combination of properties that is not displayed
by any single material, and also to incorporate the best characteristics of each of the component materials.
 Typical composite materials are metal-matrix, polymer-matrix, and ceramic-matrix composites.
 Wood, bone, etc. are natural composites. However, most of composites are synthetic.
 One of the most common and familiar composites is fiberglass, in which:
 Small glass fibers are embedded within a polymeric material (normally an epoxy or polyester).
 The glass fibers are relatively strong and stiff (but also brittle). While the polymer is more flexible.

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  Fiberglass (composite) is relatively stiff, strong, and flexible; as well, has a low density.
 Carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) is also a common type of composites, in which:
 Carbon fibers that are embedded within a polymer.
 CFRP are stiffer and stronger than glass fiber–reinforced materials, but more expensive.
 CFRP composites are used in some aircraft and aerospace applications, as well as high-tech sporting
equipment (e.g., bicycles, golf clubs, etc.), automobile bumpers, and the new Boeing 787 fuselage.

1.4.5. Advanced Materials

 Materials that are utilized in high-technology applications are termed advanced materials.
 High technology is a device or product that operates using relatively intricate and sophisticated principles
(e.g. electronic equipment, computers, fiber-optic systems, spacecraft, aircraft, and military rocketry).
 Advanced materials are typically enhanced traditional materials, newly developed materials, and high-
performance materials. And are normally expensive.
 Advanced materials include semiconductors, biomaterials, smart materials, and nanoengineered materials.

I. Semiconductors

 Semiconductors have electrical properties that are intermediate between the electrical conductors and
insulators.
 The electrical characteristics of these materials are extremely sensitive to the presence of minute
concentrations of impurity atoms, for which the concentrations may be controlled over very small spatial
regions.
 Semiconductors have made possible the advent of integrated circuitry that has totally revolutionized the
electronics and computer industries.

II. Biomaterials

 Biomaterials are employed in components implanted into the human body to replace diseased or damaged
body parts.
 Biomaterials must not produce toxic substances and must be compatible with body tissues.
 Biomaterials are typically metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, and semiconductors.

III. Smart Materials

 Smart, intelligent, materials are a group of new and state-of-the-art materials.

 Smart materials are able to sense changes in their environment and then respond to these changes in
predetermined manners.
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  Smart materials components or systems consist of some type of sensor (that detects an input signal), and an
actuator (that performs a responsive and adaptive function).
 Actuators may be used to change shape, position, natural frequency, or mechanical characteristics in
response to changes in temperature, electric fields, or magnetic fields.
 Four types of materials are commonly used for actuators:
 shape-memory alloys are metals that, after having been deformed, revert back to their original shape
when temperature is changed
 Piezoelectric ceramics expand and contract in response to an applied electric field (or voltage);
conversely, they also generate an electric field when their dimensions are altered.
 Magnetostrictive materials behavior is analogous to that of the piezoelectrics, except that they are
responsive to magnetic fields.
 Electrorheological/Magnetorheological fluids are liquids that experience dramatic changes in
viscosity upon the application of electric and magnetic fields, respectively.
 Materials/devices employed as sensors include optical fibers, piezoelectric materials, and microelectro-
mechanical systems (MEMS).

IV. Nanomaterials

 Nanomaterials may be metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, but with structural entities dimensions on
the order of a nanometer (less than 100 nanometers, which equivalent to approximately 500 atom diameters).
 Nanomaterials have superior properties and tremendous technological promise.
 Some of the physical and chemical characteristics exhibited by matter may experience dramatic changes as
particle size approaches atomic dimensions. For example:
 Materials that are opaque in the macroscopic domain may become transparent on the nanoscale.
 Some solids become liquids.
 Chemically stable materials become combustible.
 Electrical insulators become conductors.
 A material changes its properties when in nanosize due to the high surface-area-to-volume-ratio; in which,
the proportion of atoms located on surface sites of a particle increases dramatically as its size decreases.
 Nanomaterials (because of their unique and superior properties) are used in electronic, biomedical, sporting,
energy production, and other industrial applications.

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1.5. Atomic Bonding in Solids

1.5.1. Bonding Forces and Energies

 Consider the interaction between two isolated atoms as they

are brought close together from an infinite separation (Fig. 2).
 At large distances, interactions are negligible, because the
atoms are too far apart to have an influence on each other.
 At small separation distances, each atom exerts forces on the
other. These forces are of two types, attractive (FA) and
repulsive (FR).
 The origin of an attractive force (FA) depends on the particular
type of bonding that exists between the two atoms.
 Repulsive forces (FR) arise from interactions between the
negatively charged electron clouds for the two atoms and are
important only at small values of r as the outer electron shells
of the two atoms begin to overlap.
 The net force FN between the two atoms is just the sum of both Figure 2: Bonding forces and energies between two
isolated atoms separated by a distance r.
attractive and repulsive components (FN = FA + FR), and it is
also a function of the interatomic separation r.
 When FA and FR balance (FA = FR) there is no net force (FN = zero) and a state of equilibrium exists.
 In the equilibrium state, the centers of the two atoms will remain separated by the equilibrium spacing r0. For
many atoms, r0 is approximately 0.3 nm.
 Once the equilibrium is attained, any attempt to move the two atoms farther apart will be counteracted by the
attractive force, while pushing them closer together will be resisted by the increasing repulsive force.
 It is more convenient to work with the potential energies between two atoms instead of forces. In which EN,
EA, and ER are respectively the net, attractive, and repulsive energies for two isolated and adjacent atoms.
Where (EN = EA + ER).
 The net potential energy (EN) is a function of interatomic separation for two atoms, and the minimum in the
net energy curve corresponds to the equilibrium spacing, r0.
 The bonding energy for these two atoms (E0) represents the minimum energy that would be required to
separate these two atoms to an infinite separation.
 The magnitude of bonding energies and the shape of the energy–versus– interatomic separation curve vary
from material to material, and they both depend on the type of atomic bonding.

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 1.5.2. Primary Interatomic Bonds

 Three different types of primary or chemical bond are found in solids (ionic, covalent, and metallic).
 For each type, the bonding necessarily involves the valence electrons, and the nature of the bond depends on
the electron structures of the constituent atoms.
 Each of these three types of bonding arises from the tendency of the atoms to assume stable electron structures,
like those of the inert gases, by completely filling the outermost electron shell.

I. Ionic Bonding

 Ionic bonding is always found in compounds that are composed of both metallic and nonmetallic elements.
 Atoms of a metallic element easily give up their valence electrons to the nonmetallic atoms.
 In ionic boding, atoms acquire stable or inert gas configurations and, in addition, an electrical charge; that
is, they become ions.
 The attractive bonding forces are coulombic; that is, positive and negative ions, by virtue of their net
electrical charge, attract one another.
 Ionic bonding is nondirectional; that is, the magnitude of the bond is equal in all directions around an ion.
 All positive ions must have as nearest neighbors negatively charged ions in a three-dimensional scheme, and
vice versa.
 The predominant bonding in ceramic materials is ionic.
 Ionic materials are characteristically hard and brittle and, furthermore, electrically and thermally insulative
because of the absence of large numbers of free electrons.
 Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the classic ionic material (Fig. 3):
 The valence electron of the sodium atom (presents in the
3s subshell) transfers to the chlorine atom.
 The sodium atom assumes the electron structure of neon
with a net single positive charge
 The chlorine atom assumes the electron structure of argon
with a net single negative charge.
Figure 3: Schematic representation of ionic
 The sodium and chlorine exist as ions. bonding in sodium chloride (NaCl).

II. Covalent Bonding

 Stable electron configurations are assumed by the sharing of electrons between adjacent atoms.
 Two atoms that are covalently bonded will each contribute at least one electron to the bond, and the shared
electrons may be considered to belong to both atoms.
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  The covalent bond is directional; that is, it is between specific atoms and may exist only in the direction
between one atom and another that participates in the electron sharing.
 Covalent bonding can be found in many nonmetallic elemental molecules (H2, Cl2, F2, etc.), molecules
containing dissimilar atoms (CH4, H2O, HNO3, and HF), elemental solids (diamond (carbon), silicon, and
germanium), and other solid compounds, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon carbide (SiC).
 The number of covalent bonds that is possible for a particular atom is determined by the number of valence
electrons (# of covalent bonds = 8 – N’; where N’ is the number of valence electrons).
 Covalent bonds may be very strong, as in diamond, or they may be very weak, as with bismuth.
 Polymeric materials typify covalent bonding.
 Covalently bonded materials are typically electrical and thermal insulators because of the absence of large
numbers of free electrons.
 It is possible to have interatomic bonds that are partially ionic and partially covalent:
 Very few compounds exhibit pure ionic or covalent bonding.
 For a compound, the degree of either bond type depends on difference in electronegativities of its
constituent atoms.
 The greater the difference in electronegativity, the more ionic the bond.
 The percent ionic character (%IC) of a bond between elements A and B (A being the most electronegative)
[- 0.25*(XA – XB)^2]
may be approximated by the expression %IC = {1 – e }× 100; where XA and XB are the
electronegativities for the respective elements.
 Methane molecule (CH4) is covalently bonded (Fig. 4), in which:
 The carbon atom has four valence electrons, whereas each of the four
hydrogen atoms has a single valence electron.
 Each hydrogen atom acquires the helium electron configuration when
the carbon atom shares with it one electron.
 The carbon atom has four additional shared electrons, one from each
hydrogen, for a total of eight valence electrons, and acquires the
electron structure of neon. Figure 4: Schematic representation
of covalent bonding in a molecule of
methane (CH4).
III. Metallic Bonding

 Metallic bonding is found in metals and their alloys.

 Metallic materials have one, two, or at most, three valence electrons.
 A relatively simple model has been proposed to illustrate the metallic bonding (Fig. 5); in which:

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  Valence electrons are not bound to any particular atom in the solid and
are more or less free to drift throughout the entire metal.
 Valence electrons may be thought of as belonging to the metal as a whole,
or forming a “sea of electrons” or an “electron cloud.”
 The remaining nonvalence electrons and atomic nuclei form what are
called ion cores, which possess a net positive charge equal in magnitude
to the total valence electron charge per atom.
 The free electrons shield the positively charged ion cores from mutually
repulsive electrostatic forces, and act as a “glue” to hold the ion cores Figure 5: Schematic illustration of
metallic bonding.
together.
 Metallic bonding may be weak as with mercury or strong as with tungsten.
 Metallic bonding is nondirectional in character.
 Metals are good conductors of both electricity and heat, as a consequence of their free electrons.

1.5.3. Secondary Bonding or Van Der Waals Bonding

 Secondary, van der Waals, or physical bonds are weak in comparison to the primary or chemical ones.
 Secondary bonding exists between virtually all atoms or molecules, but its presence may be obscured if any
of the three primary bonding types is present.
 Secondary bonding is evidenced for the inert gases and between molecules in molecular structures that are
covalently bonded.

References

i. Callister, W. and Rethwisch, D. (2009). Materials science and engineering. 8th ed. United States of America: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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