Abstract
The strengthening and toughening mechanisms of hot-pressed Ce-TZP/Al2O3 ceramics were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. The results show that the contributions to the strength and toughness mainly come from the hindrance of the growth of Al2O3 grains by ZrO2 nanoparticles and the transformation from tetragonal ZrO2 to monoclinic ZrO2. Additionally, TEM observations show that the dislocation structures formed both in the Al2O3 and on the Al2O3 grain boundary have a certain contribution, because the dislocation agglomeration and fixation by ZrO2 nanoparticles could deflect cracking or stop cracking development. Meanwhile, it was found that the mechanical properties and microstructures of samples were preferential when ZrO2 contents in the sample reached 20 pct.
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