Effect of Magnesium Oxide Dopant on the Structural, Strength and Thermophysical Properties of Neodymium Zirconate Ceramics
Abstract
This study examines the possibility of using the stabilizer magnesium oxide (MgO) to modify the structural, strength and thermophysical properties of neodymium zirconate (Nd2Zr2O7) ceramics. The choice of Nd2Zr2O7 ceramics as the objects of study is due to their structural, strength and thermophysical properties. The combination of MgO and Nd2Zr2O7 ceramics will make it possible to make radiation-resistant high-temperature materials of inert matrices of dispersed nuclear fuel. The proposed methods of modification by doping Nd2Zr2O7 ceramics with MgO will allow us to obtain new data on the possibilities of increasing the stability of ceramics and increasing their service life by increasing the strength and thermophysical parameters. To synthesize Nd2Zr2O7 ceramics with different doping levels of MgO, the mechanochemical solid-phase synthesis method was used, which is one of the most promising methods for producing ceramics isotropic in composition and grain size. Mechanochemical grinding of ZrO2, Nd2O3, MgO oxides in a given stoichiometric ratio made it possible to obtain high-strength, stable Nd2Zr2O7/MgO ceramics, with a characteristic type of introduction of MgO grains into the intergranular space of the main Nd2Zr2O7 phase. It has been established that at high concentrations of MgO in the composition of ceramics, polymorphic phase transformations of the monoclinic-ZrO2 to tetragonal-ZrO2 type are initiated, the formation of which leads to a decrease in thermophysical and strength parameters.