High energy X-ray diffraction study of a dental ceramics–titanium functional gradient material prepared by field assisted sintering technique

A functional gradient material with eleven layers composed of a dental ceramics and titanium was successfully consolidated using field assisted sintering technique in a two-step sintering process. High energy X-ray diffraction studies on the gradient were performed at High Energy Material Science beamline at Desy in Hamburg. Phase composition, crystal unit edges and lattice mismatch along the gradient were determined applying Rietveld refinement procedure. Phase analysis revealed that the main crystalline phase present in the gradient is α-Ti. Crystallinity increases stepwisely along the gradient with a decreasing increment between every next layer, following rather the weight fraction of titanium. The crystal unit edge a of titanium remains approximately constant with a value of 2.9686(1) Å, while c is reduced with increasing amount of titanium. In the layer with pure titanium the crystal unit edge c is constant with a value of 4.7174(2) Å. The lattice mismatch leading to an internal stress was calculated over the whole gradient. It was found that the maximal internal stress in titanium embedded in the studied gradient is significantly smaller than its yield strength, which implies that the structure of titanium along the whole gradient is mechanically stable.