ABSTRACT
Infrared transparent ceramic materials are those materials separating environments of differing pressures or temperatures, while allowing energy at infrared wavelength range to pass between them. Synthesis and characterization of ultrafine nanostructured yttria-zinc oxide nanocomposites prepared by a modified combustion technique are presented in this chapter. The X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that the as-synthesized powder is composed of ZnO and Y2O3 phases. All the peaks of 50:50 mass % Y2O3-ZnO nanocomposite are indexed, and the crystallite size calculated using Scherrer formula is ~16 nm for 222 peak of Y2O3 and 22 nm for 110 peak of ZnO. The particulate properties of the modified combustion product are studied with the help of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The as-prepared nanopowder is characterized by FTIR spectroscopy to ascertain its phase purity, which is an essential requirement for high-quality IR transparent material. The optical band gap of the sample determined using UV-visible spectroscopy is found to be 3.22 eV. TGA analysis confirms its thermal stability. The samples with enhanced infrared transmission properties have applications in infrared windows/domes, IR inspection ports, transparent armors, and night vision cameras. The sample is sintered at 1410°C to achieve 96.2% densification.
