Rapid fabrication and phase transition of Nd and Ce co-doped Gd2Zr2O7 ceramics by SPS

A series of Nd and Ce co-doped Gd 2- x Nd x Zr 2- y Ce y O 7 (0.0 ≤ x , y ≤ 2.0) ceramics were rapidly fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) within 3 min. The effects of Nd and Ce contents on the phase composition, lattice parameter , active modes, microtopography and microstructure have been investigated in detail. XRD studies reveal that the compositions corresponding to 0.0 ≤ y ≤ 1.0 show a single phase and beyond 1.0 exhibit multiphase. The lattice parameters increase with elevated Nd and Ce content. The grains are densely packed on each other with cube-like shape, and the elements are almost homogeneously distributed in the compound. This synthetic method provides a simple pathway for the preparation of highly densified single phase ceramic at 1600–1700 ℃ for 3 min under pressure of 80 MPa.