Phase stability in solution synthesized Yttria doped Zirconia powders and sintered body

Yttria doped zirconia exhibits many interesting mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties and is a potential ceramic system for various structural and functional applications. Yttria addition introduces vacancies in the oxygen sub-lattice as charge compensating defects. In the present study, powders of different compositions (3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 mol% Yttria doping) were prepared through citric acid gel route. Based on the TGA data the dried gels were calcined at 800 °C for 2h. X-ray diffraction of the powder samples was carried out for identification of phases and determination of crystallite size. Powder of each composition was also ball milled in a high alumina pot to break the agglomerates. The ball milled powders were sintered at 1500 °C to get pellets with density above 97% of theoretical density