Journal of Advanced Ceramics marks 15 years with special series of five invited reviews
From ultra-high-temperature materials to data-driven discovery, the anniversary collection charts the frontiers shaping the next era of ceramic science
image: Timeline of UHTC research and developments dedicated to solving the major drawbacks of UHTCs. The chart outlines the major research topics explored across different periods and the future areas of exploration to break the 3000 °C service temperature limit.
Credit: Journal of Advanced Ceramics, Tsinghua University Press
Since its launch in 2012, JAC has grown into one of the world's leading ceramics journals. Indexed in SCIE, Scopus, Ei Compendex and other major databases, the journal achieved an Impact Factor of 14.0 in 2025, with a CiteScore of 24.6. The journal is double-blind peer reviewed and fully open access, publishing on behalf of the State Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials (Tsinghua University).
The five invited reviews span the breadth of the field:
1）Expanding the members of ultra-high temperature ceramics and their maximum service temperature exceeding 3000 °C. Aerodynamic heating and oxidation during high-Mach flight push critical vehicle components beyond 3000 °C, demanding thermal protection materials such as ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) and their composites. This review traces decades of UHTC development, highlights emerging ultrahigh-melting-point oxides, and emphasizes multiscale modeling to accelerate the design of next-generation thermal protection systems.
https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221231
2）Field-assisted sintering: Overview of thermo-electro-mechanical coupling effects. Techniques such as spark plasma sintering, flash sintering, cold sintering and hot oscillatory pressing integrate thermal, mechanical, electrical and magnetic fields to achieve unprecedented densification efficiency and microstructural control. The review examines the underlying thermo-electro-mechanical coupling, showcases materials previously unattainable by conventional routes, and bridges fundamental understanding with industrial implementation for aerospace, electronics, energy and biomedical applications.
https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2026.9221276
3）A review of microwave dielectric ceramics: From fundamental mechanisms and property regulation to advanced preparation, applications, and data-driven discovery. Microwave dielectric ceramics underpin modern wireless communication, with performance governed by permittivity, Qxf value and temperature stability. The review covers standardized characterization, cation rattling mechanisms, energy-saving cold sintering below 300 °C, 5G/6G device applications, and machine-learning prediction of dielectric properties, pointing toward accelerated discovery of novel compositions.
https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2026.9221320
4）High-entropy ceramics: From paradigm formation to ordered development. High-entropy ceramics - single-phase solid solutions of five or more principal elements - have moved from exploratory "great chaos" toward rational design. Synthesizing a decade of research, this review formulates design paradigms for oxidation-resistant UHTCs, thermal barrier coatings, nuclear materials and energy storage, and outlines a roadmap integrating computational thermodynamics and AI-guided design.
https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2026.9221301
5）Rethinking brittleness in ceramics: The emergence of room-temperature plasticity. Recent studies show that ceramics can deform plastically at room temperature through dislocation motion, phase transformation and grain boundary sliding, challenging the conventional view of ceramics as inherently brittle. The review surveys defect engineering and structural design strategies that bring bulk plasticity within reach, with implications for damage-tolerant structural ceramics.
https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2026.9221353
All five reviews are published as open access and freely available on the SciOpen platform. We cordially invite the community to read, share and cite these papers.
JAC 15th Anniv. Hot-topic Reviews Link: https://www.sciopen.com/journal/topical?id=1396776045425197058&topicalId=2084509473742299138&issn=2226-4108
About Journal of Advanced Ceramics
Journal of Advanced Ceramics (JAC) is an international academic journal that presents the state-of-the-art results of theoretical and experimental studies on the processing, structure, and properties of advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites. JAC is Fully Open Access, monthly published by Tsinghua University Press, and exclusively available via SciOpen. JAC’s 2025 IF is 14, ranking in Top 1 (1/34, Q1) among all journals in “Materials Science, Ceramics” category, and its 2025 CiteScore is 24.6 (6/133) in Scopus database. ResearchGate homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Advanced-Ceramics-2227-8508