2025 FEMS Master Thesis Award – Finalists

João Fransisco Lopes Miranda | 2nd place

SPM, Portugal – University of Aveiro

Ultrafast high-temperature sintering as an alternative technique for potassium-sodium niobate production

• Construction of an ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS) system, suitable for the various sintering experiments developed under the scope of this work, and for future experiments.
• Expansion of the study of applying alternative sintering techniques as more sustainable alternative options to the conventional processing of electroceramics.
• Understanding of the safe and fail conditions for obtaining potassium-sodium niobate (KNN) by UHS.
• First report of the properties of KNN obtained by UHS and first report of the piezo and ferroelectric properties of any ceramic processed by UHS, establishing processing-properties relations.

João L Miranda is currently a PhD student at the University of Aveiro and a member of CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, studying in the doctoral program of Materials Science and Engineering. The main research topics of his PhD include the processing-property relations caused by alternative fast sintering techniques, electroceramics for energy harvesting, and ceramic processing and characterization. After a bachelor’s focused on the properties of flash-sintered traditional ceramics, he completed his master’s at the University of Aveiro, and his thesis included the  construction of an ultrafast high-temperature sintering set-up and the study of the optimized conditions for  potassium-sodium niobate sintering, with the main results published in the Journal of European Ceramic Society. He participated in 3 international conferences, receiving the 2 nd place award for best poster in the 3rd YCN Workshop. In his free time, he enjoys reading, playing, and listening to music.