Structural investigation of tetragonally stabilized ZrO2in α-Al2O3–ZrO2composites

Abstract

A detailed structural analysis and phase-stabilization study of tetragonal (t-) ZrO2in α-Al2O3–ZrO2composites has been performedviaRietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction data and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It is observed that the tetragonal distortion (δ) oft-ZrO2in the composites is similar to that of puret-ZrO2. Although the average Zr—O bond distances are similar to those of other cation-doped zirconias, the X-ray and FTIR study gave no indication of Al2O3–ZrO2solid-solution formation. It is concluded that other factors, such as oxygen vacancies, play a significant role in the stabilization process. It may be argued that size-stabilizedt-ZrO2is actually an oxygen-deficient form.