Preparation of dense yttria stabilized zirconia ceramic by low-temperature sintering zirconium oxalate sol

摘要

This article reports a novel method of sintering zirconium oxalate (ZrOC₂O₄) sol to prepare dense yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic at a low sintering temperature below 1300°C. A YSZ ceramic as control group was also prepared by sintering its nano-powder. The thermal decomposition process and sinter programme of the YSZ green bodies were investigated by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. The sintered ceramics showed a crystallization structure in cubic phase and the crystallite size increased with the increasing sintering temperature in the range of 550 to 1200°C. For preparing dense YSZ ceramic, a zirconium oxalate sol was prepared by sol–gel method and then sintered with a temperature of 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1300°C. Compared with the ceramic obtained from YSZ ceramic nano-powder, the ceramic prepared by zirconium oxalate sol exhibited an enhancement of densification with higher relative density of 98.5% and higher electrical conductivity at all test temperatures.