Effect of oxygen partial pressure on temperature for onset of flash sintering 3YSZ

In this paper, it is demonstrated that in an oxygen-enriched environment, the oxygen partial pressure affects the onset temperature of flash sintering of 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ). Flash sintering experiments were performed with oxygen partial pressures in the range of 0.25-1 atm. The results indicate that the onset temperature increased by increasing oxygen partial pressure. According to the plots of the conductivity as a function of temperature, the oxygen partial pressure might affect the onset temperature, by changing the conductivity in the pre-flash stage. Combined to the analysis of the law of mass action, it was established that electron conduction might also represent a critical parameter during the pre-flash stage of flash sintering, excluding the oxygen vacancy conduction.