Structural characterization of bulk ZrTiO4 and its potential for thermal shock applications

Zirconium titanate, ZrTiO₄, is a well known compound in the field of electroceramics. Furthermore, it shows a large potential as structural material for thermal shock resistance applications, since it presents crystallographic anisotropy in thermal expansion. However, there is no information in the current literature about its thermomechanical behaviour. In this work, single phase zirconium titanate bulk materials have been prepared from well dispersed ZrO₂ and TiO₂ mixed suspensions, combining reaction and conventional sintering processes. The crystal structures of ZrTiO₄ have been studied by the Rietveld method for bulk samples. The structural evolution upon the cooling rate has been unravel, as the b-axis strongly decreases for slow cooled samples when compared to quenched materials. For the first time apparent Young's modulus (≈130 GPa) and Vickers hardness (≈8 GPa) values of a fully dense single phase zirconium titanate material have been evaluated and its potential for thermal shock applications has been analysed in comparison with other thermal shock resistant materials.