SYNTHESIS AND STUDY OF NANOSTRUCTURED YTTRIA-STABILIZED ZIRCONIA

A sol-gel like chemical method has been adopted for the preparation of nanostructured zirconia in pure and stabilized forms. X-ray diffracti on analysis reveals that 3mol% Y2O3 doped ZrO2 exhibits both cubic and tetragonal phases rather than pure tetragonal phase as in the coarse grain 3mol% Y2O3-ZrO2. Differential thermal analysis and XRD patterns show that the crystallization is occurring at a slow rate. Impedance m easurement for 12mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 (cubic phase) sintered pellet shows an improved ionic conductivity than for coarse grain material.