Transparent/translucent polycrystalline nanostructured yttria stabilized zirconia with varying colors

We present a method for introducing light transmittance properties to polycrystalline oxide ceramics traditionally thought of as being structural ceramics, in effect producing multifunctional materials. Partially (ZrO2-3 mol.% Y2O3) and fully stabilized (ZrO2-8 mol.% Y2O3) nanostructured powders were densified using a current activated technique. The resulting materials have a grain size of 55 nm, yielding translucent materials in the partially stabilized case and highly transparent fully stabilized materials. The transparent materials vary in color from ruby to amber. (C) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.