Influence of small amount of dopant on grain size and phase composition of 8% Mg-partially stabilized zirconia

8% (in mole) Mg-PSZ was prepared as basic material. It was doped with small amount of dopants, such as Al2O3, SiO2, etc. The composition was sintered at 1700°C. The phase composition of (c+t)-ZrO2 was calculated semiquantitatively according to the diffracted intensity measured by XRD. The surface morphology of the samples was observed by SEM, and the average grain size was measured. It is found that doped Al2O3 can decrease the grain size and reduce the volume content of (c+t)-ZrO2. Al2O3 and SiO2 are co-doped in mole at the ratio of 3:2, the grain size and the volume content of (c+t)-ZrO2 first decrease and then increase along with the increase of dopants volume content. Ca2+ and Y3+ also affect these two parameters when they are doped in 8% Mg-partially stabilized zirconia.