Translucent 20 mol.% CaO-doped zirconia ceramics via hot-pressing

•Hot-pressing of dense (>97 %), phase-pure cubic 20CaSZ ceramics at 1500 °C.•Maximum transmittance of ∼73 % was obtained at 600 nm for a 1.5 mm thick pellet.•Low birefringence and minimal grain boundary scattering ensured high translucency.•Hot-pressed ceramic showed an average grain size ∼2 μm and hardness of ∼14.5 GPa. For the first time, translucent, dense (>97 %), pure cubic 20 mol.% CaO-doped ZrO2 ceramics (20CaSZ) with suitable mechanical properties were achieved through hot-pressing. The ceramic depicted a maximum transmittance value of ∼73 % for a 1.5 mm thick pellet at 600 nm. The 20CaSZ ceramic was hot-pressed at 1500 °C for 15 min and displayed a phase-pure cubic symmetry. The average grain size of ∼2 μm, hardness of ∼14.5 GPa, and indentation toughness of ∼1.9 MPa.m1/2 were assessed. Combining low birefringence and low optical scattering by grain boundaries helped to achieve translucency for hot-pressed 20CaSZ ceramic.