Ratio of Compressive Strength to Fracture Toughness for Nanostructured Silicon-Containing ATZS Ceramics

The structure, phase composition, and mechanical properties of alumina toughened zirconia with a silica addition (ATZS), as well as Aidite AiZir ceramics, used to manufacture dental crowns, have been investigated. It is shown that the developed ATZS ceramics, containing 2 or 3 mol % silica, exceed Aidite AiZir by 130% in fracture toughness and by 10 and 4%, respectively, in compressive strength, while being inferior in hardness by 14 and 13%, respectively. The high mechanical properties of ATZS ceramics, as well as their ability to transformation-induced plasticity and increased resistance to low-temperature degradation, indicate good prospects of their use as an alternative import-substituting dental material.