Effect of sintering temperature on properties of Al2O3 whisker reinforced 3 mol% Y2O3 stabilized tetragonal ZrO2 (TZ-3Y) nanocomposites

In present study, effect of sintering temperature on density and hardness of 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (referred to as TZ-3Y) composite reinforced with alumina whiskers (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.%) has been studied. Initially, Ammonium Aluminum Carbonate Hydroxide (AACH) whiskers were added in TZ-3Y composite and transformed into alumina during sintering performed at different temperatures i.e. 1400, 1500 and 1650 degrees C. Results revealed that for all sintering temperatures, with increase in whisker concentration, sintered density decreased and hardness increased conversely. Maximum hardness of 14.47 GPa was achieved with 10 wt.% whiskers addition when sintered at 1500 C. However, with addition of CTAB (1 wt.%) as deflocculating agent the hardness was further improved to 15.11 GPa. While sintering at 1650 degrees C a decrease in hardness was observed. It was mainly due to high temperature morphological change of whiskers i.e. transformation of whiskers into alumina rich grains. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.