Hydrothermal Treatment of Coprecipitated YSZ Powders

Zirconia stabilized with 8.5 mol% yttria (YSZ) were synthesized by coprecipitation and resulting gels were hydrothermallly treated at 200°C and 220 PSI for 4, 8 and 16 hours. Products were oven dried at 70°C for 24 hours, isostatically pressed as pellets and sintered at 1500 °C for 1 hour. Powders were characterized for surface area with N2 gas adsorption, X-ray diffraction, laser diffraction granulometric analysis and scanning and transmission electronic microscopy. Density of ceramics was measured by an immersion method based on the Archimedes principle. Results showed that powders dried at 70°C are amorphous and after treatment has tetragonal/cubic symmetry. Surface area of powders presented a significant reduction after hydrothermal treatment. Ceramics prepared from hydrothermally treated powders have higher green density but sintered pellets are less dense when compared to that made with powders calcined at 800°C for 1 hour due to the agglomerate state of powders. Solvothermal treatment is a promising procedure to enhance density.