Fabrication of rare earth oxide-doped Al2O3/TiC/ZrO2 ceramic composites via low-pressure SPS

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41779-026-01356-7

This study comprehensively investigated the microstructural, mechanical properties and sintering behaviour of Al2O3-TiC-ZrO2 (ATZ) composites doped with rare earth oxides (Er2O3, Yb2O3, Y2O3, CeO2 and Sm2O3) and produced with the low-pressure spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. CeO2-doped composite decreases the sintering temperature by about 6% compared to other composites. It was observed that the CeO2-doped composite increased fracture toughness by nearly 10% compared to other composites. Compared with the undoped commercial ATZ product, it was observed that almost the same fracture toughness was obtained at a lower sintering temperature. As a result, CeO2 and Sm2O3 were determined as promising additives in developing energy-efficient and high-performance Al2O3-TiC-ZrO2 composites for advanced engineering applications.