Crystal Structure of Orthorhombic Zirconia in Partially Stabilized Zirconia

A neutron powder diffraction investigation confirms that, in tough magnesiapartially-stabilized zirconia cooled to 30 K, most of the tetragonal zirconia transforms to an orthorhombic phase. This phase is retained on heating to room temperature; the lattice parameters at 295 K are a = 0.5068, b = 0.5260, and c = 0.5077 nm. The room-temperature crystal structure (space group Pbc2₁) is determined by multiphase Rietveld refinement from the neutron diffraction pattern. This orthorhombic structure is compared with the parent tetragonal structure and with the structure of monoclinic zirconia, which it closely resembles.