ABSTRACT
Hydrothermal technique was used to obtain the TZP powders in the TiO2 – Y2O3 – ZrO2 system.
Within the studied composition range (Y2O3 from 0.5 to 3 mole % and TiO2 from 3 to 28 mole %) the field of fully or nearly fully tetragonal polycrystals was found. Zirconium titanate (ZrTiO4) crystallizing in the form of elongated grains in the samples of the highest TiO2 concentration inhibits the growth of the tetragonal zirconia s.s. grains. The critical grain size of the tetragonal phase vs. TiO2 concentration was measured. These measurements confirm that TiO2 plays the role of the tetragonal phase stabilizer.
