Samples of zirconia which contained less than 7mol%Sc2O3 were prepared by sintering (1200 to 1300C, 1h). The ceramics had a uniform microstructure (grain size less than 0.5μm) and, when stabilized using 6mol%Sc2O3, exhibited a conductivity of 0.15S/cm at 1000C. Upon increasing the Sc2O3 content from 3.5 to 7mol%, the grain size and conductivity (1000C) changed from 0.2 to 0.5μm and from 0.07 to more than 0.2S/cm, respectively.

High Electrical Conductivity and High Fracture Strength of Sc2O3-Doped Zirconia Ceramics with Submicrometre Grains. M.Hirano, S.Watanabe, E.Kato, Y.Mizutani, M.Kawai, Y.Nakamura: Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 1999, 8[10], 2861-4