Low-temperature ageing of zirconia-toughened alumina ceramics and its implication in biomedical implants

Changes in crystalline phases resulting from low-temperature ageing of different yttria doped and non-doped zirconia-toughened alumina composites and nanocomposites were investigated under controlled humidity and temperature conditions in autoclave. A classical powder mixing processing route and a new modified colloidal processing route were used to process the composites. Different compositions ranging from 2.5 wt.% zirconia in a matrix of alumina to pure zirconia (3Y–TZP) were studied. It was observed that Al2O3+yttria stabilised ZrO2 composites exhibited significant ageing. However, ageing was much slower than traditionally observed for Y–TZP ceramics, due to the presence of the alumina matrix. Ageing was clearly limited for zirconia content beyond 25 wt.%. On the other side of the spectrum, Al2O3+2.5 wt.% ZrO2 initially presented a monoclinic fraction but did not show any ageing degradation. These composites seem to represent the best choice between slow crack growth and ageing resistance.