Stress driven phase transition pathways in fluorite-type polycrystalline bulk materials : Zooming in the reciprocal space in situ at high te

The aim of this proposal is to demonstrate experimentally whether or not the tetragonal to monoclinic phase transition in pure zirconia dense bulk polycrystals involves the formation of an intermediate orthorhombic phase belonging to the Pcca space group. This has been predicted by theoretical studies but has never been seen experimentally. The presence of this o phase will be demonstrated by in situ high temperature x-ray diffraction experiments including 3D-RSM on D2AM and Laue microdiffraction on the IF beamline.