Small-angle neutron scattering studies of ceramic nanophase materials

Undisturbed, representative microstructures in nanophase or nanostructured ceramic oxides can be non-destructively characterized using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). By using samples of sufficient size and uniformity to obtain absolutely-calibrated SANS data, and by utilizing a suitably-flexible microstructural model, quantitative parameters can be extracted for the statistically-significant grain/pore size distributions and surface-areas in a range of nanophase microstructures. It has been found that all of the observed SANS can be accounted for without including a low-density disordered phase. These issues are discussed with reference to sintering studies of nanostructured zirconia and yttria-stabilized zirconia, particularly an assessment of the effectiveness of vacuum-sinter-forging.