Effects of Surface CeO₂-doping on the Hydrothermal Corrosion Resistance of 2Y-TZP Ceramics at Low Temperature

The bending strengths of 2Y-TZP treated by different methods are compared under the condition of low temperature hydrothermal corrosion. The results show that the surface Ce-doping of Y-TZP ceramics may not only prevent the decrease of bending strength, but also can significantly improve its mechanical properties of in the presence of low temperature hydrothermal corrosion. It has been shown that the effects of surface Ce-doping on the mechanical properties of 2Y-TZP ceramics after hydrothermal corrosion should be attributed to the combined effects of the retained high stress field and introduction oxygen vacancies into the structure.