Rapid fabrication and phase transition of Nd and Ce co-doped Gd2Zr2O7 ceramics by SPS

A series of Nd and Ce co-doped Gd2-xNdxZr2-yCeyO7 (0.0 <= x, y <= 2.0) ceramics were rapidly fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) within 3 min. The effects of Nd and Ce contents on the phase composition, lattice parameter, active modes, microtopography and microstructure have been investigated in detail. XRD studies reveal that the compositions corresponding to 0.0 <= y <= 1.0 show a single phase and beyond 1.0 exhibit multiphase. The lattice parameters increase with elevated Nd and Ce content. The grains are densely packed on each other with cube-like shape, and the elements are almost homogeneously distributed in the compound. This synthetic method provides a simple pathway for the preparation of highly densified single phase ceramic at 1600-1700 degrees C for 3 min under pressure of 80 MPa.