Stabilised Zirconium Dioxide in the MgO-CeO2-ZrO2 Ternary System

The possibility of stabilising ZrO2 in the MgO-CeO2-ZrO2 ternary system was studied using Mg2+ and Ce4+ ions as stabilisers. Six samples in the MgO-CeO2-ZrO2 system, located on 5 and 10 wt% MgO content lines on the ternary diagram, were synthesised. The proportions of CeO2 were 10, 15 and 25%. The samples were fired in the temperature range 1250-1450 C. They were analysed by XRD. Tetragonal ZrO2 was the major phase at 1450 C. Besides its characteristic lines, some weak lines corresponding to monoclinic ZrO2 and CeO2 were also present. A slight contraction and, therefore, inappropriate behaviour on sintering was observed, depending on the firing temperature. 9 refs.