Characteristics of 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia powder prepared by spray drying process

Characteristics of 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powder prepared by spray drying of nitrate precursor solution has been reported. The spray dried Zr–Y nitrate powder contained spherical agglomerates of fine particles which decomposed completely on heating up to 400 °C and formed cubic YSZ phase on calcination at 600 °C for 2 h. The YSZ powder obtained after calcination was hard agglomerates of fine particles such that particle size decreased considerably with milling time. The agglomerates consist of primary crystallites of nearly 12 nm size. Sinterability of the YSZ powder prepared by the spray drying process depends on milling time and maximum sintered density of 97% of the theoretical value was achieved for the sample prepared from powder milled for 48 h. The microstructure of the sintered samples was also depends on milling time. Sintered YSZ ceramics without intragranular pores could be prepared from powder milled for 48 h that showed ionic conductivity value of 0.13 S/cm at 1000 °C suitable for solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte applications.