1995 Volume 36 Issue 6 Pages 729-734
A series of TZPs (Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystals) have been fabricated with the dopant compositions of 6 mol%YO1.5, 12 mol%CeO2, and in addition three pseudo-binaries between the binaries were prepared. Measurements were made on various properties, such as bulk density, grain size, martensitic transformation characteristic and mechanical properties, with particular attention to their compositional dependence. Although a few of the properties varied linearly with composition, other properties such as toughness and strength varied non-linearly; i.e. the variations were modestly on the yttria-rich side but become remarkable rapidly with increasing Ce content. The ternary specimens could be sintered to a higher relative density, which resulted in somewhat improved mechanical properties. The relatively high toughness and low strength of Ce-TZP was accounted for by the lower driving force required for the martensitic transformation. The low driving force of Ce-TZP was tentatively accounted for by the soft matrix, which is partly due to the larger grain size but largely to the intrinsic nature of the material.
