Synthesis of Al2O3 whisker-reinforced yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) nanocomposites through in situ formation of alumina whiskers

Enhanced mechanical properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia based composites were obtained by introducing alumina whiskers as reinforcement. The alumina whiskers were formed in situ by decomposition of ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide (AACH) whiskers during calcination. The whiskers thus formed were amorphous and were converted to α-alumina during sintering at 1450 °C. The AACH whiskers were produced by hydrothermal treatment of an aqueous solution of urea and aluminum nitrate at 120 °C for 24 h. The Vickers hardness of the sintered composite sample increased with an increase in the alumina content up to 10 wt% and then decreased. The maximum hardness achieved at 10 wt% of alumina whiskers was 13.8 GPa, which further increased to 14.4 GPa with the addition of 1.0 wt% of cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB). The improved mechanical strength of the composites was attributed to the enhanced dispersion of alumina whiskers due to four times volume decrease during transformation of AACH to alumina and relatively lower aspect ratio of AACH whiskers as well as the deflocculating effect of CTAB.