Effects of clean GB and GB complexion with multiple dopants co-segregated on the coarsening of ZrO2 nanocrystallites. (IMAGE)

Tsinghua University Press

Effects of clean GB and GB complexion with multiple dopants co-segregated on the coarsening of ZrO2 nanocrystallites.

Caption

In un-doped ZrO2-SiO2 system, the GBs between ZrO2 nanocrystallites were clean without dopant segregation. When heating the material, Zr and O atoms could easily cross the GBs, resulting in grain coarsening. In comparison, when multiple dopants were added to the material system, GB complexions with multiple dopants co-segregated were formed. The GB complexions acted as a barrier for atom diffusion, which effectively hindered grain coarsening. The microstructure and chemical composition of the GB complexions were carefully characterized by advanced electron microscopy techniques. These findings are important for understanding the GB complexions and are expected to provide new insights to design nanomaterials with excellent thermodynamic stability.

Credit

Journal of Advanced Ceramics, Tsinghua University Press

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