I might be in for trying a bunch of ceramic stuff, IF you can convince me it's the right ceramic, and it's affordable. I know the compounds are available, it has been done. F1 engines make extensive use of the stuff. Actually, stuffs, because they use a different ceramic for each type of component. Also, way back about 1989, honda built a mostly ceramic ,750cc i think, bike engine that spun 23000 rpm and was near the automotive goal of adiabatic (not true adiabatic, as in no lost heat, but as in no cooling needed). It used really neat rectangular pistons with rounded corners.I have neither the time nor the inclination to go track down the ceramics myself right now, but if you seriously need a hand in finding the right compounds, ping me in a couple days, and I may at least be able to get you a couple pointers to get you started. The greatest difficulty will be in getting any of the suppliers to give you the time of day, as it is a big dollar niche market, with application engineers on standby to help any customer with a need/project for the materials, as long as the need is accompanied by a six or seven figure $ demand.