Correlation of electrical conductivity with microstructure in 3Y-TZP system: from nano to submicrometer grain size range

Nanocrystalline 3 mol% yttria-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) has been successfully sintered to high density by both conventional and two stage sintering method. These helped in tailoring the final microstructure from nano to submicrometer range. Reduction of grain size from submicrometer to nano regime resulted in marginal increase in conductivity. Activation energy for conductance has also been found to be dependent on grain size