Stability of Cubic Phase in Nanocrystalline ZrO < inf > 2 < /inf >

Abstract

Stable cubic ZrO2up to a temperature of 1173 K has been synthesized by a chemical precipitation technique. Such a stability appears to be driven by particle size. The critical value below which cubic ZrO2has been found to be stable is 17 nm. The x-ray diffraction pattern of such ultrafine cubic particles is similar to that obtained by stabilization of ZrO2by the addition of 20 mole % CaO. © 1994, Materials Research Society. All rights reserved.