Crystallite growth characteristics in superfine zirconia powders and compacts

Crystallite growth characteristics of coprecipitated superfine zirconia powders have been investigated. It was found that the crystallite growth in powders follows a cubic law at 800 and 1000°C; however, the crystallite size data for compacts of both Y-TZP and YSZ cannot be fitted with a traditional parabolic or cubic law, but with a linear relation between crystallite size and the logarithm of time. In addition, it was also found that the degree of agglomeration of the powders can affect the crystallite growth.