Fabrication of high-strength continuous zirconia fibers and their formation mechanism study

Continuous zirconia fibers with a nanometer ceramic structure and a tensile strength up to 2.8 GPa were fabricated by pyrolyzing polyacetylacetonatozirconium precursor fibers through a special atmosphere heat treatment. DSC-TGA, GC-MS, IR, SEM, and TEM were used to study the fiber transformation mechanism during heating. Results showed that special atmosphere heat treatment could make the organics in the fibers come out directly without carbonization and remove them almost entirely under 400degreesC, and the obtained zirconia fibers had few defects, good continuity, and high strength.