STABILIZATION OF CUBIC ZIRCONIA WITH MANGANESE OXIDE

A directionally solidified eutectic (DSE) of MnO-ZrO2 has been investigated using a variety of electron optical techniques. It is found that considerable MnO goes into ZrO2 to form a substitutional solid solution. About 14 wt% of MnO is soluble in ZrO2 close to the eutectic temperature. The solubility of ZrO2 in MnO, however, is quite low, less than 0.50 wt%. Electron diffraction experiments indicate that ZrO2 (MnO) has the cubic fluorite structure. Diffuse scattering, similar to other cubic zirconias (e.g., CaO, MgO stabilized zirconia), is also observed in manganese-stabilized zirconia. Diffuse scattering indicates the presence of oxygen vacancies and thus confirms the defect nature of the fluorite structure. Electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS) fine structure analysis of the Mn L23 edge provided clear evidence that Mn is present as Mn2+ in Mn-stabilized cubic ZrO2.