A Method for Quantitative Phase Analysis of Nanocrystalline Zirconium Dioxide Polymorphs.
A method based on X-ray diffractometry was developed for quantitative phase analysis of nanocrystalline zirconium dioxide polymorphs. Corresponding formulas were derived. The key factors therein were evaluated by rigorous theoretical calculation and fully verified by experimentation. A process of iteration was raised to make the experimental verification proceed in the case of lack of pure ZrO2 crystal polymorphs. By this method, the weight ratios of tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2) to monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) in any a mixture that contains nanocrystalline t-ZrO2 and m-ZrO2 or their weight fractions in a mixture that is composed of nanocrystalline t-ZrO2 and m-ZrO2 can be determined only upon an XRD test. It is proved by both theoretical calculation and experimental test that mutual substitutions of t-ZrO2 and cubic ZrO2 (c-ZrO2) in a wide range show almost no impact on the XRD patterns of their mixtures. And plus the similarity in property of t-ZrO2 and c-ZrO2, they can be treated as one whole phase. The high agreement of the theoretical and experimental results in this work also proves the validity and reliability of the theoretical calculation based on X-ray diffractometry theory for such quantitative phase analysis. This method has the potential to be popularized to other materials.
Zhiqiang
Z
Zhou
Li
L
Guo