One-step synthesis of t-ZrO2 from Zircon using magnesium-calcium minerals as stabilizers

Abstract

Stabling crystal structure at room temperature is a classic problem in the study of Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). However, there are few investigations on making tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2) in one step at a low cost. In this research, t-ZrO2 is synthesized using a one-step high-temperature solid-state sintering technique with magnesite, dolomite, and limestone as stabilizers and zircon as the raw material. The most suitable stabilizers and reaction conditions are determined, and the mechanism of zirconia structure stabilization is explored. The findings suggest that magnesite has the lowest effect as a crystal structure stabilizer, whereas dolomite and limestone are pretty close, but dolomite introduces more impurities. The ideal reaction conditions were 60% mol limestone at 1500 °C. The stabilization mechanism is zirconia gap correction, according to XRD and EPR data. The characterization of the SEM demonstrates that the heat treatment temperature and stabilizer had little effect on the morphology of t-ZrO2. When limestone was introduced throughout the process, EDS data revealed that some amorphous silicon-calcium compounds occurred in the product. The focus of follow-up work will be on how to lessen the impact in this area. This research offers vital reference value for reducing the cost of the synthetic t-ZrO2 process.