Preparation of Gd2O3-doped ZrO2 by polymeric precursor techniques

Zirconia- 10 mol% gadolinia was prepared by several techniques involving polymeric precursors: the Pechini, the PVA and the amorphous citrate techniques. The aim of this work is to determine among these techniques the most suitable to obtain solid solutions with high chemical homogeneity and high sinterability. The main results show different paths for decomposition of the Polymeric precursors, Calcined powders presented similar particle size distribution curves although they are related with the distribution of agglomerated particles. Agglomerate morphology is also quite different as observed by scanning electron microscopy, and the powder prepared by the citrate (Pechini) technique is found to be chemically inhomogeneous. The PVA technique is the less complex route for solid solution synthesis. The higher densification was obtained for powders prepared by the amorphous citrate technique. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.