Phase formation and lattice distortion of Lu2O3‐doped ZrO2 in comparison with Y2O3‐doped ZrO2.

Lu2O3 and Y2O3 doping of 8, 11, and 18 mol% in ZrO2 were prepared by solid solution reaction, aiming to study the phase stabilization of Lu2O3‐doped ZrO2 and Y2O3‐doped ZrO2 in terms of phase formation and lattice distortion. The Rietveld refinement results indicated that Lu2O3‐doped ZrO2 and Y2O3‐doped ZrO2 followed the same trend in terms of cubic phase fraction, increasing from 25%–30% (8 mol%) to 95%–100% (11 and 18 mol%). This phase formation was confirmed by observing the same diffraction ring pattern observed for the Lu2O3‐doped ZrO2 and Y2O3‐doped ZrO2. The Vickers hardness of the Lu2O3‐doped ZrO2 was 4.3% higher than that of Y2O3‐doped ZrO2 at 8 mol%, but 9.7% and 14.8% lower at 11 and 18 mol%, respectively. This was likely caused by the lattice distortion effect of Y2O3 doping overpowering the field strength difference between Lu3+ and Y3+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]