Phase stability and thermo-physical properties of ZrO2-CeO2-TiO2 ceramics for thermal barrier coatings

The properties of ZrO 2 co-stabilized by CeO 2 and TiO 2 ceramic bulks were investigated for potential thermal barrier coating (TBC) applications. Results showed that the (Ce 0.15 Ti x )Zr 0.85-x O7 (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) compositions with single tetragonal phase were more stable than the traditional 8YSZ at 1573 K. These compositions also showed a large thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) and a high fracture toughness, which were comparable to those of YSZ. However, the phase stability, fracture toughness and sintering resistance of the CeO 2 -TiO 2 -ZrO 2 system showed a decline tendency with the increase of TiO 2 content. The TEC of the ceramic bulks decreased with increase of TiO 2 content as well because the crystal energy was enhanced with increasing substitution of Zr 4+ by smaller Ti 4+ . The (Ce 0.15 Ti 0.05 )Zr 0.8 O 2 had the best comprehensive properties among the (Ce 0.15 Ti x )Zr 0.85-x O 2 compositions as well as a low thermal conductivity . Therefore, it can be explored as a TBC candidate material for high-temperature applications.