 Yttria-stabilized zirconia

Zirconia stabilized by addition of yttria. At suitable elevated temperatures, oxygen vacancies allow oxide-ion transport, making the material useful in an oxygen concentration cell. Its oxide-ion transference number must remain sufficiently close to one for a simple ionic Nernst equation interpretation.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is a crystalline compound formed by the addition of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) to zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). This stabilization process is essential because zirconia can exist in different crystalline forms (phases), and at high temperatures, it can transform from its stable monoclinic form to a tetragonal or cubic form. However, this phase transformation can make pure zirconia brittle.