Pressure effects and grain growth kinetics in the consolidation of nanostructured fully stabilized zirconia by pulsed electric current sintering

The effect of applied uniaxial pressure on the densification and grain size of nanocrystalline cubic zirconia (c-YSZ) was investigated during sintering by the pulsed electric current sintering (PECS) method. The role of the pressure depended on temperature, being highly significant at lower temperatures and of little significance at higher temperatures. The kinetics of grain growth were determined under PECS conditions. Analysis of the results indicated a grain growth process that is retarded, probably due to the effect of the current on grain boundary energy or dopant segregation. The activation energy for grain growth of c-YSZ was determined as 252 ± 34 kJ mol−1, a value that is slightly smaller than reported values for microcrystalline samples.