title: Condensation and relaxation/transformation of dense t-ZrO2 nanoparticles.
abstract: Dense tetragonal (t)-ZrO(2) nanocondensates were synthesized under very rapid heating and cooling by pulsed Nd-YAG (YAG--yttrium aluminum garnet) laser ablation with oxygen background gas and characterized by electron diffraction. The t-ZrO(2) nanoparticles with a residual stress up to about 5 GPa tended to form deformation twins/faults upon local electron dosage. By contrast, the t-ZrO(2) nanoparticles formed at an-order-of-magnitude higher power have a residual stress above 6 GPa and tended to transform into a metastable cubic (c) phase vulnerable to amorphization. The relaxation/transformation of the self-constrained t-ZrO(2) nanoparticles can be rationalized by a lowering of internal energy under the influence of resolved shear stress and local electron heating.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meng-Hsiu
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Shuei-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Pouyan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shen