Some studies on ceria–zirconia reinforced solvothermally synthesized cordierite nano-composites

•Nanocordierite synthesized through solvo-thermal process.•[CeO2(0.12)]⋅[ZrO2(0.88)] processed by gelation and co-precipitation method.•The effect of mineralizer addition on cordierite formation was studied.•Investigation of thermo-mechanical properties of prepared nano-composites. Nanostructured cordierite and 12mol% ceria stabilized zirconia were chemically prepared separately. Pure cordierite was synthesized solvothermally, whereas [(Zr)0.88(Ce)0.12O2] termed as CeSZ was processed with gelation and co-precipitation method. The evolution of crystalline phases and the microstructures have been studied using X-ray diffractometer, and FE-SEM with EDX. Varying contents (0–20weight%) of CeSZ were then mixed with cordierite to form sample blocks of desired shapes. These nano-composite blocks were fired at 1100–1400°C for a soaking time of 3h to observe their thermo-mechanical, micro-structural and physical properties. Results indicate that ceria not only acts as a stabilizer in zirconia ceramics but it also acts as a sintering aid in cordierite formation. CeO2 also improves compressibility and structural properties of nano-composites. Sintering temperature also plays an important role in the behavior of nano-composite blocks. All properties show a major improvement than previous reported data’s.