Synthesis and colloidal processing of zirconia nanopowder

Nanosized tetragonal 3 mol% Y2O3-doped ZrO2 powder was produced by hydrothermal precipitation from metal chlorides and urea sol followed by a washing-drying treatment and calcination. The effects on powder properties of powder washing by water and ethanol with subsequent centrifuging, with possible deagglomeration using microtip ultrasonication, were experimentally shown. Ultrasonic irradiation induced pressure waves, which generated cavities that could violently collapse, producing intense stress. This induced stress was effective in minimizing secondary particle size, deagglomerating the powder, redispersing the ZrO2 after all the washing-centrifuging cycles, and minimizing mean aggregate size after final calcination. A uniformly aggregated tetragonal ZrO2 nanopowder with a mean secondary particle size of similar to 45 nm and without hard agglomerates was prepared. The properties of the nanopowders produced by colloidal processing and CIP were studied. Determination of the best suspension parameters allowed for low-temperature sinterability, which resulted in a nanograined similar to 95 nm ceramic.