Anisotropic Hardness Estimations of Some Inorganic Functional Materials

For the first time, this work indicates that mechanical concerns of inorganic materials are highly demanded when well optimizing their functional applications. We quantitatively give the proper data of hardness on different planes of some representative inorganic functional materials including borides, carbides, nitrides and oxides. This work clearly indicates mechanical importance in studying functionality of inorganic materials, and provides people guidance in the practical applications of these materials.