Preparation of zirconia-alumina powder by co-precipitation

A zirconia-alumina powder with a near spherical shape and an average size of 0.1 ～ 0.2μm was prepared byco-precipitation. XRD analysis shows that α-Al2O3 phase may be directly transformed from amorphous in calcining the hydroxide composite. The ZrO2-Al2O3 composite ceramics manufactured from this powder has the maximum fracture toughness of 9 M Pa·m- 1/2 at 15 % ZrO2 and 740 MPa fracture strength at 5 % ZrO2. Zirconia grains about 1 μm in diameter aredispersed uniformly in the alumina ceramic matrix