Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Zirconia (ZrO2) is an important ceramic material with a broad range of applications. Due to its high melting temperature, low thermal conductivity, and high-temperature stability, zirconia based ceramics have been widely used for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). When TBC is exposed to thermal cycling during real applications, the TBC may fail due to several mechanisms: (1) phase transformation into yttrium-rich and yttrium-depleted regions, When the yttrium-rich region produces pure zirconia domains that transform between monoclinic and tetragonal phases upon thermal cycling; and (2) cracking of the coating due to stress induced by erosion. The mechanism of erosion involves gross plastic damage within the TBC, often leading to ceramic loss and/or cracks down to the bond coat. The damage mechanisms are related to service parameters, including TBC material properties, temperature, velocity, particle size, and impact angle. The goal of this thesis is to understand the structural and mechanical properties of the thermal barrier coating material, thus increasing the service lifetime of gas turbine engines. To this end, it is critical to study the fundamental properties and potential failure mechanisms of zirconia. This thesis is focused on investigating the structural and mechanical properties of zirconia. There are mainly two parts studied in this paper, (1) ab initio calculations of thermodynamic properties of both monoclinic and tetragonal phase zirconia, and monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transformation, and (2) image-based finite element simulation of the indentation process of yttria-stabilized zirconia. In the first part of this study, the structural properties, including lattice parameter, band structure, density of state, as well as elastic constants for both monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia have been computed. The pressure-dependent phase transition between tetragonal (t-ZrO2) and cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2) has been calculated using the density function theory (DFT) method. Phase transformation is defined by the band structure and tetragonal distortion changes. The results predict a transition from a monoclinic structure to a fluorite-type cubic structure at the pressure of 37 GPa. Thermodynamic property calculations of monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO2) were also carried out. Temperature-dependent heat capacity, entropy, free energy, Debye temperature of monoclinic zirconia, from 0 to 1000 K, were computed, and they compared well with those reported in the literature. Moreover, the atomistic simulations correctly predicted the phase transitions of m-ZrO2 under compressive pressures ranging from 0 to 70 GPa. The phase transition pressures of monoclinic to orthorhombic I (3 GPa), orthorhombic I to orthorhombic II (8 GPa), orthorhombic II to tetragonal (37 GPa), and stable tetragonal phases (37-60 GPa) are in excellent agreement with experimental data. In the second part of this study, the mechanical response of yttria-stabilized zirconia under Rockwell superficial indentation was studied. The microstructure image based finite element method was used to validate the model using a composite cermet material. Then, the finite element model of Rockwell indentation of yttria-stabilized zirconia was developed, and the result was compared with experimental hardness data.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver métodos eficientes e reprodutíveis de crescimento de monocamadas de WS2, MoS2 e outras heteroestruturas verticais por deposição química em fase de vapor à pressão atmosférica (APCVD). A monocamada separada destes materiais tem grande importância na fabricação de novos dispositivos óticos e Nano eletrônicos. Dispositivos finos e de baixo custo necessitam temperaturas em torno de 800 graus celsius, o que é um problema para aplicações mencionadas acima. Nesta tese, nós propusemos uma nova rota usando APCVD para crescer monocamadas de MoS2 a 550 graus celsius, usando sódio como catalisador. Nós produzimos monocristais e poli cristais controlando a razão de precursores NaNO3/MoO3 e tempo de crescimento. Usando cálculos de primeiros princípios, mostramos que o sódio atua como centro de nucleação para o processo de síntese. A razão de precursores é crucial para diminuir a energia de formação e a temperatura de síntese. Cálculos de primeiros princípios e experimentos concordam que uma razão ideal é em torno de 0.3, proporcionando uma queda de 250 graus celsius na temperatura de crescimento. Nós investigamos as amostras crescidas por APCVD usando espectroscopia de fotoelétrons induzidos por raios-X, microscopia de força atômica, espectroscopia Raman, fotoluminescência e mediadas de transporte. Dicalcogenetos de metais de transição (TMD) dispostos em poucas camadas permitem-nos criar materiais e estudar novos fenômenos físicos. A sequência de empilhamento dos TMDs pode modificar suas propriedades opticas e elétricas. Também sintetizamos poucas camadas de MoS2 e WS2 usando APCVD. Duas e três camadas de WS2, MoS2 e suas heteroestruturas verticais foram caracterizadas através de geração de segundo harmônico (SHG). SHG mostra que as bicamadas crescidas com ângulos de rotação relativos de 0 grau e 60 graus possuem diferentes fases de empilhamento. O SHG do empilhamento bicamada com ângulo relativo de 0 graus aumentos, enquanto para amostras com empilhamento de 60 graus foi zerado. Este comportamento do SHG sugere que duas camadas de MoS2 ou WS2, quando empilhados a 0 graus não possuem simetria de inversão para 3R(AB) entre as camadas inferiores e superiores, enquanto as camadas de 60 graus possuem simetria de inversão (centrossimétricas) e possuem empilhamento na forma 2H(AA). Finalmente, dispositivos foram fabricados em amostras de boa qualidade para a investigação de sua performance elétrica. Os dispositivos mostram comportamento típico tipo-n e sua mobilidade foi estimada a partir das curvas de transporte. A dependência dos modos Raman das nossas amostras de heteroestruturas também foi estudada. Aplicando uma tensão nos dispositivos, o modo A1 mostrou um desvio para o azul e um novo modo surge em 410 cm-1, atribuídos defeitos (D) no cristal. / [en] The aim of this work was to develop reliable and repeatable methods for growing high-quality monolayer MoS2, WS2, and their vertical heterostructure by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) technique. The monolayer of these materials have vital importance in the fabrication of new optical and nanoelectronic devices. Thin and low-cost devices have increased the demand for new synthesis processes. Usually, the synthesis requires temperatures around 800 Celsius degrees, which is an issue for applications mentioned above. In this thesis, we propose a new route using the APCVD technique to grow monolayers of MoS2 at 550 Celsius degrees mediated by sodium as a catalyst. We have produced single crystals and polycrystals by controlling the NaNO3/MoO3 precursor s ratio and growth time. Using first-principles calculations, we find out that sodium is the nucleation site of the growth process. The precursor s ratio is crucial to decrease the energy formation and the synthesis temperature. Firstprinciples calculations and experiments agree with the ideal precursor s rate of 0.3 and with the decrease of the synthesis temperature of 250 Celsius degrees. We investigated the CVD grown sample with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and transport experiments. Few layers of TMDs allow us to create new materials and find new physical phenomena. The stacking sequence in few-layer TMDs can significantly impact on their electrical and optical properties.We also synthesized few layers of MoS2 and WS2 via APCVD. Two and three layers of MoS2, WS2, and their vertical heterostructures were characterized by second harmonic generation (SHG). The SHG shows that the layers in bilayers grow with 0 degrees or 60 degrees has different phase stacking. The SHG from 0 degrees stacked bilayer has increased when compared to monolayer, while the generated signal from bilayer with 60 degrees stacking is zero. This behavior of SHG suggests that the two layers of MoS2 or WS2 when stacked at 0 degrees have no inversion symmetry to 3R(AB) phase stacking between the top layer and the bottom layer. While when stacked with 60 degrees has inversion symmetry (Centrosymmetric) and have 2H(AA0) phase stacking. Finally, the devices were fabricated on good quality samples to investigate their electrical performance. The fabricated devices show typical n-type behavior and mobility was estimated by measuring transport curves. The dependence of Raman modes of our heterostructure device with electron doping was also studied. By applying a voltage across our device the A1 mode shows blueshift and a new mode emerges at ~ 410 cm-1, which is attributed to the defects (D) in the crystal.