Synthesis and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Sol-Gel Derived Zirconia Toughened Alumina Nanocomposite

Abstract

composite precursor powder containing 5-15mol% is prepared by wet chemical route. The washed gel containing pseudoboehmite and amorphous zirconia are characterized with respect to DTA/TG, XRD and IR spectroscopy. In the calcined powder phase evolution of follows the sequence: pseudoboehmite bayerite boehmite ; while that of follows amorphous . However, the crystallization behavior of aluminum-hydroxide is somewhat affected with addition of zirconia. FTIR study reveal the number of M-OH and M-O bond increases on increasing mol% of due to a change in the cationic charge of the composite powder. The formation of amorphous material before crystallization can also be predicted from TEM study, where particle exhibits different morphology; and show smooth, distinct and faceted surfaces at different temperature. A bimodal particle size distribution is observed because of both unagglomerated and partial...