The change in enthalpy, with grain size, of dense nanograined yttria-stabilized zirconia was measured by means of oxide-melt solution calorimetry of cubic 10YSZ and 15YSZ dense nanograin samples prepared by the spark plasma sintering of nanopowders. The grain-boundary enthalpies were found to be 680mJ/m2 for 10YSZ and 640mJ/m2 for 15YSZ. A value of 730mJ/m2 had previously been found for 8YSZ; suggesting a weak decrease in grain-boundary energy with increasing dopant concentration. Literature interface enthalpies of 600 to 1000mJ/m2 for partially agglomerated nanopowders of 8, 10 and 12YSZ, were in general agreement with the present data on densified nanoceramics. The data, taken together, suggested that the ratio of surface to interface energy increased slightly with doping level.

Grain-Boundary Enthalpies of Cubic Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia. S.Chen, G.C.C.Costa, S.Wang, Z.A.Munir, S.Kim, A.Navrotsky: Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2011, 94[7], 2181-4