Abstract
ZrO2 fibers were fabricated by means of the Sol-Gel process using Zr(O-nC3H7)4-H2O-C2H5OH-HNO3 solution as a starting material. The optimum experimental parameters such as molar ratio of starting materials, concentration, temperature, viscosity, the amounts of stabilizer and the pH of solution were determined. The experimentally determined optimum variables which produce good ZrO2 fibers were used to manufacture the Y2O3-and CaO-ZrO2 fibers. The amounts of Y2O3 and CaO were varied within the range from 1.5~5 mol% and 3~15 mol% respectively. The phase transformation and microstructural evolution of the fabricated ZrO2 gel fibers were investigated after heat treatments up to 120$0^{\circ}C$ by X-ray diffraction, Raman microprobe spectroscopy, SEM, and specific surface area and pore volume measurements. From the analysis of X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra, the phase of heat treated Y2O3-and CaO partially stabilized ZrO2 gel fibers(Y2O3:2.5~3 mol%, CaO:6~9 mol%) were identified as a tetragonal phase up to 100$0^{\circ}C$. The maximum tensile strength of 2.5Y2O3-97.5ZrO2 and 6CaO-94ZrO2 (in mol%) fibers heat treated at 100$0^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr was found be 1.3~2 GPa with diameters of 10~20 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$.