Evidence of Phase Transitions and Their Role in the Transient Behavior of Mechanical Properties and Low Temperature Degradation of 3Y-TZP Made from Stabilizer-Coated Powder

Abstract

The substance 3 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP) has become a commodity for the manufacture of components in biomedical and engineering applications. Materials made from stabilizer-coated rather than co-precipitated starting powders are known for their superior toughness and low temperature ageing resistance. The reason for this phenomenon is however still not fully understood. In this study, 3Y-TZP materials hot pressed at 1300–1450 °C for 1 h were characterized. It was found that at a sintering temperature of 1375 °C, a transition from fine grain to coarse grain microstructure associated with a shift from tough and ageing resistant to brittle and prone to ageing was observed. The detailed analysis of the phase composition by X-ray diffraction revealed that TZPs consists of up to five crystallographically different phases of zirconia simultaneously whose contents dynamically change with sintering temperature. At low sintering temperature, the predominant phases are a tetragonal phase with low yttria content and large domain size and high tetragonality together with a cubic phase of high yttria content. At high temperature, a tetragonal phase of higher yttria content and lower tetragonality is formed together with a cubic phase of lower yttria content.