Quantitative Analysis on the Influence of <scp> <scp>SiO</scp> </scp> ₂ Content on the Phase Behavior of <scp> <scp>ZrO</scp> </scp> ₂

Abstract

The salient features of bioinert, chemical resistance, and high mechanical strength of synthetic ZrO 2 and the bioactivity characteristics of SiO 2 has been well‐known in biomedical applications. This study has been aimed at the synthesis and quantitative structural analysis of SiO 2 ‐stabilized tetragonal ZrO 2 . The synthesis has been performed through sol–gel technique and the resultant characterization of the powders has been done through X‐ray diffraction ( XRD ) and X‐ray fluorescence ( XRF ) techniques. Quantitative analysis on the ZrO 2 – SiO 2 binary oxide systems has been performed by Rietveld Refinement using GSAS ‐ EXPUGI software package. The results from this study have confirmed that SiO 2 concentration has played a major role in the stabilization of tetragonal ZrO 2 . Lower SiO 2 concentration has resulted in the formation of mixture of any two different phases comprising of monoclinic ZrO 2 ( P 2 1 / c symmetry) or cubic ZrO 2 ( Fm ‐3 m symmetry) or tetragonal ZrO 2 ( P 4 2 / nmc symmetry), whereas higher SiO 2 concentration has resulted in the stabilization of single phase tetragonal ZrO 2 ( P 4 2 / nmc symmetry).