Fiber reinforced porous (La_1/5Nd_1/5Sm_1/5Gd_1/5Yb_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ ceramics with enhanced compressive strength

In this work, we have prepared a novel yttria-stabilized zirconia fiber (YSZ_f)-reinforced (La_1/5Nd_1/5Sm_1/5Gd_1/5Yb_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ porous ceramics (YSZ_f/(5RE_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ PCs) through a foam-gelcasting-freeze drying process. The microstructure, phase composition, density, porosity, thermal conductivity, and compressive strength of the as-prepared YSZ_f/(5RE_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ PCs were systematically investigated. In addition, the high-temperature thermal cycle stability and thermally insulating property of the samples were also tested. The results indicated that the as-synthesized YSZ_f/(5RE_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ PCs (with 25 wt% YSZ fibers) exhibited high porosity, high compressive strength, low thermal conductivity as well as low thermal cycling shrinkage. This work demonstrated that the added YSZ fiber can remarkably improve the strength of (5RE_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ PCs with the high porosity, and as-developed YSZ_f/(5RE_1/5)₂Zr₂O₇ PCs would be an excellent candidate for high-temperature thermal insulator materials.