Transparent/translucent polycrystalline nanostructured yttria stabilized zirconia with varying colors

We present a method for introducing light transmittance properties to polycrystalline oxide ceramics traditionally thought of as being structural ceramics, in effect producing multifunctional materials. Partially (ZrO2–3 mol.% Y2O3) and fully stabilized (ZrO2–8 mol.% Y2O3) nanostructured powders were densified using a current activated technique. The resulting materials have a grain size of 55 nm, yielding translucent materials in the partially stabilized case and highly transparent fully stabilized materials. The transparent materials vary in color from ruby to amber.