Low-temperature stabilisation of tetragonal zirconia by antimony

Abstract

Low-temperature (400–800 °C) stabilisation of tetragonal zirconia, prepared by a hydroxide gel route and a metal oxalate method, both followed by low-temperature annealing, has been achieved by partial substitution of Zr⁴⁺ with Sb³⁺. XRD and Raman spectroscopy have been used for characterisation of the doped zirconia powders as well as for identification of the crystal symmetry. A transition from the tetragonal to the monoclinic phase takes place above 800 °C. XPS results provide evidence of pronounced Sb segregation upon increasing the firing temperatures. The grain size dependence upon the annealing temperature has been evaluated using the Scherrer equation. Particle morphology and size have been imaged directly by scanning electron microscopy.