In-situ coagulation of yttria-stabilized zirconia suspension via dispersant hydrolysis using sodium tripolyphosphate

A novel in-situ coagulation method without coagulation agent and adjusting pH value for yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) suspension via dispersant hydrolysis is reported. Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is used as dispersant to prepare electrostatic stabilized YSZ suspension. Influences of STPP contents on the dispersion and pH value of YSZ suspension were investigated. It indicated that there was a well-dispersed YSZ suspension with the addition of 0.3 wt% STPP at pH = 10. Influence of coagulation temperature on coagulation process and properties of green body was investigated. The sufficiently high viscosity suspension to coagulate was achieved at 60–80 °C. The coagulation mechanism was different from traditional direct coagulation casting. The suspension was coagulated by directly shifting the isoelectric point to the original state without increasing the ionic strength and adjusting the pH value. It was proposed that the YSZ suspension could be destabilized via decrease of zeta potential by sodium tripolyphosphate hydrolyzing at elevated temperature. Coagulated samples with wet compressive strength of 3.60 MPa could be demolded without deformation by treating 50 vol% YSZ suspension with 0.3 wt% STPP at 60 °C for 30 min. Dense YSZ ceramics with flexural strength of 887 ± 110 MPa and relative density of 98.9% had been prepared by this method sintered at 1450 °C for 3 h.