Effect of Sintering Temperature on the Structural Characteristics of Stabilized ZrO 2 –Based Ceramics

The structural evolution of 1Ce10ScSZ and 0.5Ce0.5Gd10ScSZ ceramics is investigated as a function of sintering temperature in the range of 1100–1500°C. The ceramics are synthesized from commercial powders with compositions of 1 mol.% CeO 2 – 10 mol.% Sc 2 O 3 – 89 mol.% ZrO 2 (1Ce10ScSZ) and 0.5 mol.% CeO 2 – 0.5 mol.% Gd – 10 mol.% Sc 2 O 3 – 89 mol.% ZrO 2 (0.5Ce0.5Gd10ScSZ). X‐ray diffraction confirms that the initial powders possess a single‐phase cubic fluorite structure. After sintering, the 0.5Ce0.5Gd10ScSZ ceramics maintains the cubic phase at all temperatures investigated, indicating high structural stability. In contrast, the 1Ce10ScSZ one sintered at 1100°C contains both cubic and rhombohedral phases. These results demonstrate that the Ce/Gd ratio strongly influences phase stability in scandium‐stabilized zirconia. The rhombohedral phase formation in 1Ce10ScSZ is attributed to increased residual porosity, which promotes lattice relaxation and symmetry lowering at low sintering temperatures. A lower heating rate markedly reduces porosity and suppresses rhombohedral formation, leading to fully cubic ceramics.