The thermal behavior of 8mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia nanocrystallites prepared by a sol–gel process

Eight mole percent yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) nanocrystallites were synthesized at a relatively low temperature using ZrOCl2DDT8H2O and Y(NO3)3DDT6H2O as starting materials in an ethanol-water solution by a sol-gel process. The thermal behavior of the 8YSZ nanoparticles was investigated by differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. The crystallization temperature of the 8YSZ gel powders was estimated to be about 729K by DTA analysis. When calcined from 773 to 1273K, the crystallization of the cubic phase was observed by XRD. The crystallite size of the 8YSZ increased from 7DDT14 to 20DDT10nm with calcining temperature increasing from 773 to 1273K. The activation energy for growth of 8YSZ nanoparticles was found to be 7DDT26kJ/mol.