Laser shock wave consolidation of micropowder compacts of fully stabilised zirconia with addition of nanoparticles

Laser shock waves were utilised to sinter green micropowder compacts (average particle size = 16 μm) of cubic crystalline form of ZrO₂/8 mol.‐%Y₂O₃ (yttria stabilised zirconia) with and without the addition of nanoparticles (average particle size = 45 nm) of identical composition for 0, 25 and 50% molar concentrations. Results indicated that yttria stabilised zirconia micropowder compacts with 0% nanoparticles excessively cracked and chipped, while those containing 25 and 50% nanoparticles underwent smooth sintering without any crack formation. Hardness increase of up to 64% was found in the laser shock compacted samples; however, the per cent increase in hardness was lower for the compacts with higher concentration of nanoparticles. Thermal conductivity measurements indicated that the addition of nanoparticles dramatically reduced the conductivity by nearly 50%. Laser shock waves have thus potential to make novel advances in the state‐of‐the‐art densification of ceramics.