2024-06-192024-06-192024Muñoz Ferreiro, C., Reveron, H., Rojas, T.C., Reyes, D.F., Cottrino, S., Moreno, P.,...,Poyato, R. (2024). BN Nanosheets Reinforced Zirconia Composites: An in-depth Microstructural and Mechanical Study. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 44 (10), 5846-5860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2024.02.002.0955-22191873-619Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/160715This paper deals with the effect of hydroxylated boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) incorporation on the microstructural and mechanical features of zirconia ceramics. Few-layered BNNS were synthesized via a simple hydroxide-assisted planetary ball milling exfoliation technique. 3 mol% yttria tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) with 2.5 vol% BNNS powders were prepared by an environmentally friendly process in water, and spark-plasma sintered at three temperatures to explore the in-situ reduction of the functionalized BNNS. An exhaustive study by (S)TEM techniques was performed to elucidate the influence of the sintering temperature on the matrix and the 3Y-TZP/BNNS interfaces, revealing that BNNS were homogeneously distributed throughout the matrix with an abrupt transition at 3Y-TZP/BNNS interfaces. BNNS effectively hindered slow crack growth, thus increasing the composite's crack growth resistance by about 30 %. A 1 MPa·m1/2 rising R-curve was also induced by crack bridging.application/pdf15 p.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Boron nitride nanosheetsComposite materialsCrack bridgingInterfacesR-curveinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2024.02.002