Influence of a small amount of Al2O3 addition on the transformation of Y2O3-partially stabilized ZrO2 during annealing

Tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformations in 2 and 3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 ceramics and their composites with 5 vol% Al2O3 during annealing in water and in vacuum at 353-623 K were investigated to explore the effect of a small quantity of Al2O3 addition on the transformation. The dispersion of Al2O3 particles into the ZrO2(Y2O3) matrix was found to be effective to suppress the transformation directly induced by the attack of H2O during annealing in water, even though the amount was as small as 5 vol%. However, the transformation predominantly caused by thermal activation during annealing in vacuum was not affected by the limited amount of Al2O3 addition. The effect of suppression of Al2O3 on the water-induced phase transformation was considered to be realized through the hydroxydation of Al2O3 particles, by which the sample surface was effectively ''protected'' from further attack of H2O, which accelerated the low-temperature degradation transformation.