'Polymorph Method' Determination of Monoclinic Zirconia in Partially Stabilized Zirconia Ceramics

The polymorph method, which provides phase analysis from a small number of integrated intensities in a powder diffraction scan, is adapted for the determination of monoclinic zirconia in a mixture with cubic, tetragonal. and orthorhombic zirconias and the γ-phase (Mg₂Zr₅O₁₂). Such a mixture is representative of Mg-PSZ after subeutectoid aging. The quantitative determination of the monoclinic depends in principle on a knowledge of the relative amounts of the other phases present in the mixture. It is demonstrated, however, that without this knowledge, even in complex mixtures, the traditional polymorph method analysis gives an acceptable estimate of the monoclinic fraction in the sample.