THE EFFECT OF CERIA CO-DOPING ON CHEMICAL-STABILITY AND FRACTURE-TOUGHNESS OF Y-TZP

The fracture toughness and ageing resistance of yttria, ceria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y, Ce-TZP) were evaluated as a function of grain size and ceria content. Very fine grained, fully dense materials could be produced by sinter forging at relatively low temperatures (1150-1200 degrees C). The ageing resistance in hot water (185 degrees C) of 2 mol% Y2O3-stabilized TZP is strongly enhanced by alloying with ceria. The ceria content necessary to avoid degradation completely, decreases with grain size. The toughness of fully dense Y, Ce-TZP is 7-9 MPa m(1/2) for grain sizes down to 0.2 mu m No or very little transformation took place during fracturing and no clear variation with grain size was observed for the toughness at grain sizes up to 0.8 mu m. Reversible transformation and crack deflection may explain the observed toughness values.