Filter pressing and sintering of a zirconia nanopowder

The aim of this work was investigation of the sintering behavior of a material prepared by filter pressing of a zirconia powder with grain sizes of about 8 nm. The water suspension of the powder was filter pressed under 5 MPa. The observation of the microstructure evolution in samples heat-treated at different temperatures was performed. The crystallite arrangement in the material was very uniform, which led to uniform densification of the material. Heat treatment of the sample for 30 min at 1200 °C resulted in the material of 99.9% relative density, and grains not larger than 150 nm.