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Abstract This research is designed to investigate the occurrence of interdiffusion-induced mesopores, Brownian motion, cleaving and healing and defect clusters in three binary composites, i.e. Ni1-xO/Co1-xO, Ni1-xO/ZrO2 and Co1-xO/ZrO2 of the Ni1-xO-Co1-xO-ZrO2 system. Firstly, the (NimCo1-m)1-£_O/Ni-doped Co3-dO4 composites prepared by reactive sintering Ni1-xO and Co1-xO powders (1:2 molar ratio, denoted as N1C2) at 1000oC with or without further annealing at 720oC in air were studied by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to clarify the formation mechanism of mesoporous spinel precipitates. Submicron-sized inter- and intragranular pores, due to incomplete sintering and grain boundary detachment, prevails in (Ni0.33Co0.67)1-£_O protoxide with rock salt structure; whereas nanosize pores due to Kirkendall effect were restricted to the spinel precipitates having Ni component progressively expelled upon annealing. A rapid net vacancy flux and a tensile misfit stress perpendicular to the protoxide/spinel interface caused the formation of elongated and aligned {100}-faceted mesopores in the spinel precipitates with a relatively low equilibrium vacancy concentration. Aligned mesopores in diffusion zone of nonstoichiometric metal oxides have potential applications on thermal barrier bond coating and mass-transport limited heterogeneous catalysis. Also, this thesis deals with the reorientation and shape change of low-crystal-symmetry (non-cubic) ZrO2 within the high-crystal-symmetry grains of Co1-xO/Ni1-xO cubic rock salt-type structure. ZrO2/Co1-xO composites 1:99 and ZrO2/Ni1-xO composites 1:9 in molar ratio were sintered and then annealed at 1650oC for 24 and 100 h in air to induce reorientation of the embedded particles. Transmission electron microscopic observations in both systems indicated that the submicron tetragonal/monoclinic (t/m) ZrO2 particles fell into three topotaxial relationships with respect to the host Co1-xO/Ni1-xO grain: (1) parallel topotaxy, (2) ¡§eutectic¡¨ topotaxy i.e. [100]Z//[111]C,N, [010]Z//[0 1]C,N and (3) ¡§occasional¡¨ topotaxy [100]Z//[111]C,N, [01 ]Z//[0 1]C,N. The parallel topotaxy has a beneficial low energy for the family of {100}Z/C,N and {111}Z/C,N interfaces. The change from the occasional topotaxy to an energetically more favorable eutectic topotaxy was likely achieved by a rotation of the ZrO2 particles over a specific (100)Z/(111)C,N interface. Brownian-type rotation is probable for the embedded t-ZrO2 particles in terms of anchorage release at the interphase interface with the Co1-xO/Ni1-xO host. Detachment or bypassing of rock salt type grain boundaries could also cause orientation as well as shape changes of intergranular ZrO2 particles. Zirconia-polymorphism-induced cleaving and spontaneous healing by precipitation was studied in Co1-xO polycrystals containing a dispersion of ZrO2 particles. Conventional, analytical, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicated that the Co1-xO matrix cleaves parallel to {100} and {110} planes and heals itself by co-precipitation of parallel-topotaxial ZrO2/Co3-£_O4 particles upon cooling. Due to size effect and matrix constraint, nanometer-size ZrO2 precipitates at cleavages were able to retain tetragonality upon further cooling to room temperature. Paracrystalline array of defect cluster was shown to form in Zr-doped Ni1-xO and Co1-xO polycrystals while prepared by sintering at relative high temperature, i.e., 1650oC to increase the defect concentration. Paracrystalline array of defect clusters in Co3-£_O4 spinel structure also occurred when doped with Zr4+ at high temperature or cooled below 900oC to activate oxy-precipitation of Co3-dO4 at dislocations. transmission electron microscopic observations indicated the spinel precipitate and its paracrystal predominantly formed at the ZrO2/Co1-xO interface and the cleavages/dislocations of the Co1-xO host. Defect chemistry consideration suggests the paracrystal is due to the assembly of charge- and volume-compensating defects of the 4:1 type with four octahedral vacant sites surrounding one Co3+-filled tetrahedral interstitial site. The spacing of paracrystalline distribution is 3.3, 2.9 and 4.9 times the lattice parameter for Zr-doped Ni1-xO, Zr-doped Co1-xO and Zr-doped Co3-dO4. This spacing between defect clusters is about 0.98 times that of the previously studied undoped Co3-dO4. There is much larger (3.4 times difference) paracrystalline spacing for Zr-doped Co3-£_O4 than its parent phase of Zr-doped Co1-xO.