Monoclinic phase measurement in Mg-PSZ using X-ray diffraction

This paper reports a systematic study in which both the surface preparation and the amount of orthorhombic phase in the samples were varied and the effect on the observed monoclinic peaks was examined. The monoclmic 111 peak is largely unaffected by the state of the surface and can be considered as representative of the bulk of the sample. This is used to derive a simple method for determining the bulk monoclinic phase content in Mg-PSZ ceramics. Acceptable agreement was found between XRD and neutron diffraction measurements. It was also found that the presence of substantial amounts of orthorhombic phase in the sample had little effect on the measured monoclinic phase content.