Preparation of CeO₂-coated ZrO₂ Powder by Suspension Drying

A novel technique is described for the preparation of Al2O3-doped CeO2-coated ZrO2 nanopowders from a solution of aluminium nitrate and cerium nitrate in a mixed alcohol/water suspension with monoclinic zirconia powder. Drying of the suspension and subsequent calcination of the powder at 800℃ results in Al2O3-doped CeO2-coated monoclinic ZrO2 nanopowder with a grain size below 100 nm. That fabricated powder can be pressureless sintered in air at 1 450℃ into dense Ce-TZP materials with an excellent fracture toughness of 11 MPa m1/2 and a Vickers hardness of 750 kg/mm2 (HV30). The microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al2O3-doped CeO2-coated powder based TZP are compared with those of a Ce-TZP obtained from commercially available co-precipitated powder.