Atomic Structure Studies of Zirconia Solid Solutions by EXAFS

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe have investigated, using EXAFS, the local atomic structures of four zirconia polymorphs and their solid solutions with Ca2+, Ga3+, Fe3+, y3+, Gd3+, Ge4+, Ti4+, Ce4+ and Nb5+. Structural information up to 9Å, and in one special case up to 10.9Å, from the absorbing atom has been obtained. The characteristic features of local environments of both the host Zr and the dopant cations, and their variations leading to cation ordering and symmetry evolutions, are elucidated in terms of a dopant size effect and an oxygen vacancy effect. The dynamic aspects of the EXAFS Debye-Waller factor are used to shed light on the connection between phase transition, dopant stabilization, and cation-anion correlation.