A search for temperature induced time-dependent structural transitions in 10 mol%Sc2O3–1 mol%CeO2–ZrO2 and 8 mol%Y2O3–ZrO2 electrolyte ceramics

Both Sc2O3–CeO2-stabilized-ZrO2 (SCSZ) and Y2O3-stabilized-ZrO2 (YSZ) show similar Young's modulus damping at 175–400 °C and 200–400 °C, respectively, by impulse excitation acoustic technique. The phase transition in SCSZ is considered responsible for the damping; however for YSZ, such a phase transition has never been reported. To clarify the relation of damping and structural transition in these two materials, the time-dependent high temperature stabilities are studied by in situ X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and Raman scattering during long-term annealing of SCSZ at 350 °C and YSZ at 275 °C. The cubic-to-rhombohedral transition in SCSZ is detected. However, the existence of t′ phase in YSZ raw powders is confirmed without significant changes of the cubic structure during isothermal annealing. It is concluded that the phase transition contributes to the Young's modulus damping in SCSZ, while the structural transition is excluded from the reason for damping in YSZ.