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Structure and Chemistry of Yttria‐Stabilized Cubic‐Zirconia Symmetric Tilt Grain Boundaries
Author(s) -
Dickey Elizabeth C.,
Fan Xudong,
Pennycook Stephen J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.2001.tb00842.x
Subject(s) - grain boundary , yttrium , electron energy loss spectroscopy , materials science , transmission electron microscopy , yttria stabilized zirconia , crystallography , fluorite , scanning transmission electron microscopy , cubic zirconia , geometry , condensed matter physics , oxide , chemistry , ceramic , metallurgy , nanotechnology , microstructure , physics , mathematics
The atomic structures of two symmetric [001] tilt grain boundaries in yttria‐stabilized cubic‐zirconia, Σ5 (310) and near‐Σ13 (510), are studied by Z ‐contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy. Both boundaries are composed of periodic arrays of highly symmetric structural units, with a distinct unit for each boundary. Oxygen K ‐edge electron energy‐loss spectra show that the oxygen coordination is similar between the bulk and grain boundary, indicating that oxygen ions within the grain boundary reside in distorted tetrahedral sites. Atomic models of the grain boundaries are proposed that are consistent with the experimental data. The core structures are different from previously studied metal or oxide grain boundaries and are unique to the fluorite structure. Yttrium segregation to the grain boundaries is also investigated by electron energy‐loss spectroscopy. Yttrium is found to segregate preferentially to the Σ5 grain boundary, and the spatial distribution of the segregation layer is confined to within 1 nm of the boundary plane.