Physical properties of 8 mol% Ceria doped yttria stabilised zirconia powder and ceramic and their behaviour during annealing and sintering

The thermal behaviour of 8 mol% Ceria doped 16 mol% yttria stabilised zirconia (Ce-YSZ) powder, synthesised by the wet co-precipitation method, has been investigated in details. The lattice parameter, mean crystallite size and lattice distortions have been determined as a function of calcination temperature. After grinding by attrition followed by fractionating in acetone, the powders were compacted and sintered at 1600 °C in air for 5 h. The sintering behaviour of pellets was studied by dilatometry, revealing different sintering behaviour depending on the calcination temperature of the powders and the type of agglomerates. The influence of these latter parameters on the microstructure of pellets has been investigated. The pellets produced from powders calcined at low-temperature, from 110 to 600 °C, present the highest densities and the best morphological structure.