Effect of oxide additives and particle size on stabilization of treated commercial zirconia

Commercial zirconia was milled and sedimented to separate finer and coarser particles. Then additives such as CaO and Y₂O₃ were added in proportions of 7 and 13 mol.% each. Wet mixing of these powders was done in the ball mill. These mixtures were then compacted through uniaxial compaction using 150 MPa of pressure to make pellets of 8 mm diameter and 3 mm height approximately. The compacts were sintered at 1700 °C under argon atmosphere during 1 h. Densification calculations revealed densities of more than 80% in all samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that closed porosity was present. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed the presence of cubic phase with quantities higher in samples of finer powder and 13 mol.% additive.