Abstract
Investigation of zirconia nanopowders, doped with metal cations of different valence (Mg2+, Ce4+), and ceramics, obtained by sintering these nanopowders, will be reported. The nanopowders were prepared by the coprecipitation method.
The Doppler broadening (DB) measurements were carried out using a slow-positron beam and combined with the conventional positron lifetime spectroscopy and electron microscopy. Nano- and mesopore data, obtained in this study, suggest that small agglomerates of nanoparticles occurs in the pressure-compacted zirconia nanopowder doped with Mg2+ cation, while only relatively small nanopores seem to be contained in the nanopowder of ZrO2 , doped with Ce4+, after pressure compaction, indicating thus an absence of significant nanoparticle agglomeration in this system.