Single-step sintering of zirconia ceramics using hydroxide precursors and Spark Plasma Sintering below 400 °C

Catherine Elissalde (1) , U-Chan Chung (1) , Michaël Josse (1) , Graziella Goglio (1) , Matthew R. Suchomel (1) , Jérrôme Majimel (1) , Alicia Weibel (2) , F. Soubie (1) , Andréas Flaureau (2) , Arnaud Fregeac (2) , Claude Estournes (2)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
2 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux

The densification of zirconia at very low temperatures (<400 °C) requires enhanced synergy between thermodynamics and kinetics. This work demonstrates an efficient single step approach combining amorphous hydrated zirconia and Spark Plasma Sintering at 350 °C and 600 MPa. The resulting zirconia ceramics exhibit a cohesive nanostructure with small average grain sizes (20 nm) and a predominantly monoclinic structural polymorph confirmed by both X-ray scattering analyses and High Resolution Transmission Electronic Microscopy. Remarkable Vickers hardness of 3.8 GPa for high level of porosity (30%) is explained by the density and homogeneous distribution of grains boundaries and meso/microporosities.

Mots clés: Amorphous oxides precursors; Nanostructured zirconia ceramics; Polymorphic phase transformation; Hardness; Spark plasma sintering

Domaines: Matériaux

Catherine Elissalde, U-Chan Chung, Michaël Josse, Graziella Goglio, Matthew R. Suchomel, et al.. Single-step sintering of zirconia ceramics using hydroxide precursors and Spark Plasma Sintering below 400 °C. Scripta Materialia, 2019, 168, pp.134-138. ⟨10.1016/j.scriptamat.2019.04.037⟩. ⟨hal-02125329⟩