Oxide-based ceramic materials are rapidly proving to have exciting potential for application as hard coatings. The most commonly known oxide material is silica, with a well-known variety of polytypes. Many other oxides, especially those involving metals, are now also proving to be important for a variety of applications where, because of the chemical role played by metal d electrons, large oxygen coordinations can be sustained. Properties of a variety of oxides—from silica to metal-based oxides—are discussed, and the role of predictive computer modeling is shown to be valuable in guiding the search for potentially new superhard oxides.
