In Situ XRD Study of Zirconia Phase Transformation Produced from Chemical and Mineral Processes

The high temperature phase transition of zirconia produced from commercial zirconyl chloride chemical was compared with that produced from a Malaysian zircon mineral. Zirconyl chloride was produced from zircon by using the hydrothermal fusion method. Initial XRD diffractogram of these samples at room temperature show that they are of amorphous structure. High temperature XRD studies was then performed on these samples; heated up to 1500°C. The XRD diffractograms shows that the crystalline structure of tetragonal zirconia was first observed and the monoclinic zirconia becomes more visible at higher heating temperature.