ABSTRACT
The moisture sensitive sensitive t → m transformation in Y-TZP has been examined by X-ray diffraction with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Pre-sintered (both as-fired and after polishing) discs of 3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 from two sources, containing different levels of impurities, were annealed in both dry and moist air in the 200–300 ° C range. On annealing in moist air a considerable amount of m-ZrO2 is formed accompanied by increases in the Y/Zr ratio by a factor of 2–3 and changes in the O Is regions and Zr 3d. These changes suggest large increases in the amount of O= and Zr3+.
