Crystallization and Polymorphic Phase Transitions in Zirconia-Toughened Alumina Systems Induced by Dy3+/Gd3+ Cosubstitutions

Autor: Sanjeevi Kannan, Rugmani Meenambal, V. Ponnilavan
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Crystal Growth & Design. 18:4449-4459
ISSN: 1528-7505
1528-7483
DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.8b00435
Popis: The substitution of rare earth elements in zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) to expand the resultant material properties forms a crux of the investigation in recent years. In this work, the simultaneous substitutions of Gd3+ and Dy3+ in ZTA and the subsequent variation in the structural, mechanical, and magnetic imaging characteristics are demonstrated. A detailed structural analysis verified the combined occupancy of Gd3+/Dy3+ at the ZrO2 lattice, while the α-Al2O3 component of the composite remains unperturbed. However, the free Gd3+ exceeding the substitution limit reacts with Al2O3 to yield GdAlO3. Further, the optimum level of Gd3+/Dy3+ in ZTA exhibited superior mechanical features with hardness and Young’s modulus of 18 and 251 GPa, respectively. Dy3+ presence persuaded emission in the visible region while Gd3+/Dy3+ combined in ZTA unveiled improved T1 and T2 magnetic resonance imaging features with relaxivity values of r1 = 22 and r2 = 39 mM–1 s–1. In addition, the strong resistance of ZTA against h...
Databáze: OpenAIRE