Electrophoretic deposition EPD is gaining increasing interest as a processing technique for production of novel inorganic nanostructured and nanoscale materials, including the use of nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanorods and related nanomaterials. Recent advances in the electrophoretic deposition of a great variety of ceramic and metallic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and other inorganic nanoscaled materials are discussed in this review. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the utility of an applied electric field to manipulate and control the deposition of electrically charged nanoscaled particles and other nanostructures on solid surfaces from liquid suspensions. A wide range of applications has been reviewed, demonstrating the high versatility and suitability of the EPD technique as a convenient nanotechnology processing tool. Nano-enamels and structural coatings, electrodes and films for fuel cells, capacitors, sensors and other microelectronic devices, fibre-reinforced and graded ceramic composites, nanostructured films and coatings for electronic, biomedical, optical, catalytic and electrochemical applications are some of the examples discussed. The combination of sol-gel methods and EPD for production of a variety of nanomaterials is also reviewed.

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A novel hot-pressing technique for the manufacturing of basalt fibre reinforced glass matrix composites was investigated. Two-dimensional (2D) fibre mats were sandwiched between borosilicate glass powder layers, thus configuring a much simpler processing route than that commonly employed for the production of fibre-reinforced glasses. Besides economic benefits, the use of fibre mats may lead to technologic advantages due to the possibility of readily coating the fibres with a suitable material (e.g. titanium oxide) by means of the sol-gel method. The coating of basalt fibre mats with TiO2 is proposed for preventing the fibres from an excessive adhesion to the glass matrix. The developed composites containing 15 vol% of 2D-fibre reinforcement exhibited promising bending strength (~ 90 MPa) and desirable “graceful” fracture behaviour without catastrophic failure. Thus the present study represents a convenient approach for production of advanced low-cost fibre reinforced glass matrix composites for structural applications