Model representation of the zirconia interface : Effects of the temperature of the oxide preparation

The interfacial properties of samples of monoclinic zirconia, obtained at different temperatures, are analyzed and interpreted through the model of Davis, James and Leckie (J. Colloid Interface Sci.,63, 480 (1978); 67, 90 (1978); 74, 32 (1980)). The temperature of the oxide preparation appears to affect deeply the features of the surface: different mechanisms of development of charge are operative at low and at high temperatures and the densities of sites, around the p.z.c., are respectively small and large in the two cases. These latter conditions, in their turn, bear consequences to the possibility to apply graphical procedures for the determination of model parameters. These results are discussed and critically compared with previous data from the literature. © 1990.