Role of Pentavalent Niobium Oxide additions on the Microstructure and Structure of Zirconia Toughened Alumina using Hot Isostatic Press Sintering

The influence of pentavalent niobium oxide (Nb2O5) on microstructural and mechanical properties of ZTA ceramic via hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technique was investigated. This work aims to determine the structural and morphological properties of ZTA ceramics using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The result shows that the optimum Vickers hardness for 5 wt.% Nb2O5 addition of 1795.3 HV which is higher than pure ZTA with value 1550.7 HV. Fracture toughness of the ZTA ceramics increased from 4.80 MPa.v m (0 wt.%) to 5.71 MPa.v m (5.0 wt.%) which is an optimum properties.