Thermal barrier materials of Yb₂O₃-ZrO₂ system synthesized by laser excitation

A low-cost and minimal-processing-step method is demonstrated to synthesize Yb₂O₃-ZrO₂ system by laser excitation catalyzed solid-state reaction. With 980 nm CW laser irradiating, near-resonant excitation of Yb³⁺ ions can obviously enhance solid state reaction. As the molar content of Yb₂O₃ rises from 12.5% to 50%, the lattice parameter of Yb₂O₃-ZrO₂ ceramic increases distinctly. Among them, high crystal quality of Yb₂Zr₂O₇ and Yb_0.2Zr_0.8O_1.9 are synthesized at the laser power of 400 W for 10 s. Two obvious Raman peaks of Yb₂Zr₂O₇ represent increased Raman activity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Impedance spectroscopy demonstrate the huge amount of the oxygen vacancies in Yb_0.2Zr_0.8O_1.9. Yb₂Zr₂O₇ shows lowest thermal conductivity among all the ceramics studied, within the range of 0.497-0.730 W mK^-1 from 25 °C to 1200 °C, which indicates a promising thermal barrier material.