Partially Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Crystals Co-Doped with Neodymium, Cerium, Terbium, Erbium or Ytterbium Oxides

Mikhail A Borik,Alexey V Kulebyakin,Filipp O Milovich,Artem S Chislov,Polina A Ryabochkina,Natalia Y Tabachkova,Natalia V Sidorova,Valentina A Myzina,Elena E Lomonova

doi:10.3390/cryst11121587

Mikhail A Borik, Alexey V Kulebyakin + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11121587

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Abstract

In this work, we studied the phase composition, local structure and mechanical characteristics of ZrO2 crystals partially stabilized with Y2O3 and co-doped with Nd2O3, CeO2, Er2O3, Tb2O3 and Yb2O3. Crystals were grown by directional melt crystallization in a cold container. The phase composition and structure of crystals were studied by X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. The study of the features of the incorporation of rare-earth cations with different ionic radii into the transformable (t) and nontransformable (t’) tetragonal phases was carried out by the method of selective laser spectroscopy and time-resolved spectroscopy. Mechanical characteristics such as microhardness and fracture toughness were studied by the indentation method. It is shown that the phase composition and structure of crystals at the same total concentration of doping oxides depends on the degree of substitution of Y3+ cations by rare-earth cations. Rare earth ions of the beginning of the lanthanide series predominantly occupy positions in the nontransformable tetragonal phase of crystals based on zirconium dioxide. Ions of the end of a series of lanthanides do not show selectivity when entering the transformable (t) phase and nontransformable (t’) phase. The study of the mechanical characteristics of the crystals showed that the values of fracture toughness increase with an increase in the ionic radius of the rare earth element of the co-doped oxide, while the values of the microhardness of the crystals slightly decrease.

Highlights

Stabilized zirconia materials possess high strength, microhardness and fracture toughness and are chemically and biologically inert refractory materials with good heat insulating properties
Stabilized zirconia ceramic materials are widely used in engineering as construction ceramics, heat insulating coatings and in medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The phase composition, local crystal structure and mechanical properties of ZrO2 crystals partially stabilized with Y2O3 and doped with Nd2O3, CeO2, Er2O3 and Tb2O3, Yb2O3 were studied

Summary

Introduction

Stabilized zirconia materials possess high strength, microhardness and fracture toughness and are chemically and biologically inert refractory materials with good heat insulating properties. Stabilized zirconia ceramic materials are widely used in engineering as construction ceramics, heat insulating coatings and in medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6] They possess a wide range of mechanical properties which depend on the composition and structure of the material. The mechanical properties of the partially stabilized ceramics on the basis of zirconia are largely affected by the synthesis technique, raw material properties and process conditions These parameters determine the structure and phase composition of the materials that are related to their properties and the sizes of the crystalline grains in the ceramic material, the homogeneity of their composition and the extension and composition of the grain boundaries. The contribution of these factors to the mechanical parameters of the ceramics is quite tangible

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