Structure and Thermal Stability of Nanostructured Iron-doped Zirconia Prepared by High-energy Ball Milling

Fully stabilized cubic zirconia doped with iron oxide has been synthesized by high-energy ball milling from powder mixtures of monoclinic zirconia and hematite. It is found that the iron ions dissolved in cubic ZrO2 are in substitutional positions with a maximum solubility of approximately 18.5 mol% α–Fe2O3. The unit-cell volume of the cubic ZrO2 phase decreases with increasing iron content. During heating the cubic-to-tetragonal transition occurs at approximately 827 °C and the tetragonal-to-monoclinic transition seems to be absent at temperatures below 950 °C. During cooling the tetragonal-to-monoclinic transition occurs at 900–1100 °C.