A hydrothermal route for production of dense, nanostructured Y-TZP

Y-TZP powders were prepared either by calcination in air or crystallization under hydrothermal conditions of a hydrous gel, obtained by coprecipitation. Differences in powder properties, green compact structure and sinterability were examined. Crystallization under hydrothermal conditions occurs at temperatures as low as 190°C in the presence of ammonia. The hydrothermally treated powders are composed of soft agglomerates, that collapse under very low pressures, resulting in green bodies with high densities and small pore radii. The sinterability is greatly improved by the hydrothermal treatment and allowed the production of dense, nanostructured Y-TZP by free sintering at 1050°C

The effect of ceria co-doping on chemical stability and fracture toughness of Y-TZP

The fracture toughness and ageing resistance of yttria, ceria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y, Ce-TZP) were evaluated as a function of grain size and ceria content. Very fine grained, fully dense materials could be produced by sinter forging at relatively low temperatures (1150–1200 °C). The ageing resistance in hot water (185 °C) of 2 mol% Y2O3-stabilized TZP is strongly enhanced by alloying with ceria. The ceria content necessary to avoid degradation completely, decreases with grain size. The toughness of fully dense Y, Ce-TZP is 7–9 MPa m1/2 for grain sizes down to 0.2 mgrm. No or very little transformation took place during fracturing and no clear variation with grain size was observed for the toughness at grain sizes up to 0.8 mgrm. Reversible transformation and crack deflection may explain the observed toughness values