Sintering of Doped, Nanocrystalline CeO_2 Powders Prepared under Hydrothermal Conditions

Nanocrystalline CeO2 powders (particle size ≈10-15 nm), doped with up to 20 at.-% of Mg,Ca or Y were prepared by chemical precipitation under hydrothermal conditions. The particle size and shape of the powders change slightly with the dopant concentrations. The the of the dopants on the sintering of the compacted powders was investigated during heating at a constant rate of 10℃/min. The elemental composition and the concentration of the dopant has significant efFect on the densification and grain growth. Compared to undoped CeO2, the dopants produce a shift in the densification curve to higher temperatures. For the same dopant concentration and under identical sintering conditions, the Ca doped samples reach nearly full density with the smallest grain size (≈50 nm), however, the Mg doped sample has the lowest density (≈95% of the theoretical) with the largest grain size (≈1 μm)