Microstructure and synthesis mechanism of dysprosia-stabilized zirconia nanocrystals via chemical coprecipitation

Abstract In this study, zirconia (ZrO2) and dysprosia-stabilized zirconia (DySZ) nanocrystals were synthesized using a chemical coprecipitation method. The crystal structure and micromorphology of the as-synthesized powders, as well as the structural evolution from precursors to oxides were investigated, and the synthesis mechanism was also examined. Results show that pure ZrO2 powders mainly comprise the monoclinic ZrO2 phase with trace tetragonal ZrO2, while the DySZ powders exhibit a tetragonal ZrO2 structure. In addition, the crystal growth rate of DySZ is far slower than that of the pure ZrO2 under elevated calcination temperature. The addition of Dy could significantly improve the phase stability of DySZ powder and effectively inhibit the crystal growth of DySZ. In the DySZ precursor, the binding energy of chemical bonds is significantly difference than in the ZrO2 precursor. A composite hydroxide can be formed with -Zr-OH-Dy- and -Zr-OH-Zr- units in the tetramer structure because of the in-situ substitution of Zr by Dy atoms. Both the ZrO2 and DySZ precursors exhibit analogous dehydration and crystallization behaviours in calcination process. Dy-doping plays a significant role in stabilizing both the intermediate product and the DySZ crystal.