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Phase stability in scandia‐zirconia nanocrystals
Author(s) -
Grosso Robson L.,
Muccillo Elia. S.,
Castro Ricardo H. R.
Publication year - 2017
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/jace.14710
Subject(s) - cubic zirconia , materials science , monoclinic crystal system , tetragonal crystal system , surface energy , phase diagram , grain size , enthalpy , grain growth , mineralogy , ceramic , phase (matter) , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , crystallography , crystal structure , metallurgy , chemistry , composite material , physics , organic chemistry , engineering
Scandia‐zirconia system has great technological interest as it has the highest ionic conductivity among doped zirconia ceramics. However, polymorphism is the most important limiting factor for application of this material. Considering that there is a strong grain size dependence on phase transitions in this class of materials, mapping out the stable polymorph as a function of grain size and composition may lead to more efficient compositional design. In this article, the phase stability of zirconia‐scandia nanocrystals was investigated based on experimental thermodynamic data. Exploiting recent advances in microcalorimetry, reliable surface energy data for five polymorphs of scandia‐zirconia system: monoclinic, tetragonal, cubic, rhombohedral β and γ are reported for the first time. Combining surface energy values with bulk enthalpy data obtained from oxide melt drop solution calorimetry allowed us to create a predictive phase stability diagram that shows the stable zirconia polymorph as a function of composition and grain size of the specimen within the range of 0‐20 mol% scandia.