The thermal behavior of 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia nanocrystallites prepared by a sol–gel process

Eight mole percent yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) nanocrystallites were synthesized at a relatively low temperature using ZrOCl2 · 8H2O and Y(NO3)3 · 6H2O as starting materials in an ethanol–water solution by a sol–gel process. The thermal behavior of the 8YSZ nanoparticles was investigated by differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. The crystallization temperature of the 8YSZ gel powders was estimated to be about 729 K by DTA analysis. When calcined from 773 to 1273 K, the crystallization of the cubic phase was observed by XRD. The crystallite size of the 8YSZ increased from 7.14 to 20.10 nm with calcining temperature increasing from 773 to 1273 K. The activation energy for growth of 8YSZ nanoparticles was found to be 7.26 kJ/mol.