Abstract
Zircon, having excellent thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties, is utilized in refractory materials, electronic materials, chemical machines, structural materials, etc. However, zircon generally shows thermal dissociation to zirconia($ZrO_2$) and silica($SiO_2$) around the sintering temperature of $1540^{\circ}C$, and when zircon particles are small and impurities are present, thermal dissociation is known to occur at around $1100^{\circ}C$. This reduces the mechanical properties of $ZrSiO_4$. In this research, the effect of adding $SiO_2$ and 3Y-TZP to $ZrSiO_4$ has been studied in order to suppress dissociation and improve the mechanical properties. Addition of $SiO_2$ suppressed the dissociation of $ZrSiO_4$ at lower temperatures. It also enabled optimum packing between the particles, resulting in a dense microstructure and good mechanical properties. When 3Y-TZP was added, recombination with the dissociated $SiO_2$ resulted in good mechanical properties by suppressing the generation of pores and the densification of the microstructure.