Tougher zirconia nanoceramics with less yttria

Reducing the grain size in zirconia ceramics has shown to decrease its toughness by size-dependent stabilisation of the tetragonal phase that, in turn, hinders the stress-induced phase transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic. The stability of the tetragonal phase increases with the decrease of grain size but decreases with the reduction of the amount of yttria added, implying the need for adjustment of the yttria content when a nano-grained structure is of concern. In this study, low-yttria compositions were investigated. The ceramics were prepared with two sintering methods namely spark plasma sintering (SPS) and pressureless sintering. A clear tendency was noted for the indentation toughness increase with the reduction of yttria content, and a higher toughness achieved in as-SPSed samples in comparison with the annealed samples. The origins of the increased toughness were discussed in terms of yttria content, carbon contamination and increased oxygen vacancies after sintering at reducing atmosphere in SPS.