Integrity of nanostructured partially stabilized zirconia after plasma spray processing

Nanostructured partially stabilized zirconia powders with different particle size distributions were plasma sprayed under a range of thermal spray parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were applied to analyze the nanostructured powder feedstocks and coatings. These results demonstrated that a feedstock with a broad particle size distribution maintained some of its nanostructure during spraying; whereas a feedstock with a narrow particle size distribution lost a major proportion of its nanostructure character. The apparent success in spraying nanostructured particles can be explained by employing the SEM and XRD analyses.