Structural properties of MgO–ZrO2 ceramics obtained by conventional sintering, arc melting and field assisted sintering technique

Abstract

MgO–ZrO2 ceramics were obtained by three different methods: conventional sintering, arc melting and field assisted sintering. The present study was undertaken in order to determine the influence of the different sintering techniques on the structural properties of MgO–ZrO2 ceramics. The phase compositions of the obtained samples consisted of MgO and ZrO2cub. ss (doped by MgO). The amount of all phases in the final product and their average crystallite sizes are strongly influenced by the sintering method. The smallest crystallites were realized for ceramics consolidated by the field assisted sintering method (20.1±2.5nm for MgO and 27.0±2.7nm for ZrO2cub. ss). About ten times larger crystallites resulted by conventional sintering. The average crystallite size in the material obtained by arc melting technique was around 116±20.4nm. It was observed that the microstructures of the samples prepared by arc melting and field assisted sintering are similar.