For the first time, zirconia nanofibers with an average diameter of about 75 nm have been fabricated by calcination of electrospun zirconium acetylacetonate/polyacrylonitrile fibers in the range of 500–1100 °C. Composite and ceramic filaments have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The stages of the transition of zirconium acetylacetonate to zirconia have been revealed. It has been found out that a rise in calcination temperature from 500 to 1100 °C induces transformation of mesoporous tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with a high specific surface area (102.3 m²/g) to non-porous monoclinic zirconia nanofibers of almost the same diameter with a low value of specific surface area (8.3 m²/g). The tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with high specific surface area prepared at 500 °C can be considered, for instance, as promising supports for heterogeneous catalysts, enhancing their activity.

Wet high-energy milling and uniaxial pressing are used to fabricate CaO-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline ceramic (Ca-TZP) with decent mechanical characteristics, i.e., a hardness of 11.5 GPa, Young’s modulus of 230 GPa, and fracture toughness of 13 MPa·m^0.5. The effect of CaO concentration and the sintering temperature on phase composition and mechanical characteristics of CaO-stabilized zirconia ceramic made of baddeleyite is investigated.

Zirconia nanofiber mats containing filaments with the average diameter of less than 100 nm were fabricated. It is found that the hardness and Young’s modulus of the mats are sensitive to the microstructure, phase composition and average diameter of the zirconia nanofibers. The hardness and Young’s modulus of the prepared zirconia nanofiber mats vary from 0.86 to 1.67 MPa and from 133 to 362 MPa, respectively, wherein an increase in hardness is accompanied by the rise in Young’s modulus.

For the first time, dense nanofibers of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia with diameter of ca. 140 nm were prepared by calcination of electrospun zirconium acetylacetonate/yttrium nitrate/polyacrylonitrile fibers at 1100–1300 °C. Ceramic filaments were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and nitrogen adsorption. With a rise in the calcination temperature from 1100 to 1300 °C, the fine-grain structure of the nanofibers transformed to coarse-grain ones with the grain size equal to the fiber diameter. It was revealed that fully tetragonal nanofibrous zirconia may be obtained at Y₂O₃ concentrations in the range of 2–3 mol% at all used calcination temperatures. The addition of 2–3 mol% yttria to zirconia inhibited ZrO₂ grain growth, preventing nanofibers’ destruction at high calcination temperatures. Synthesized well-sintered, non-porous, yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia nanofibers can be considered as a promising material for composites’ reinforcement, including composites with ceramic matrix.

We fabricated the Zr-doped CaO sorbent for high-temperature CO₂ capture by the wet high-energy co-milling of calcium carbonate and natural zirconium dioxide (baddeleyite) for the first time. The morphology of the material was examined by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray diffraction. Its CO₂ uptake capacity was determined using thermogravimetric analysis. After 50 carbonation–calcination cycles, the Zr-doped CaO sorbent characterized by a high enough CO₂ uptake capacity of 8.6 mmol/g and unchanged microstructure due to CaZrO₃ nanoparticles uniformly distributed in the CaO matrix to prevent CaCO₃ sintering under carbonation. The proposed easy-to-implement CaO-based sorbents fabrication technique is promising for industrial application.

This paper describes an experimental study of the relationships between thermal diffusivity and mechanical characteristics including Brinell hardness, microhardness, and Young’s modulus of common pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), and small-leaf lime (Tilia cordata Mill.) wood. A dependence of Brinell hardness and thermal diffusivity tensor components upon humidity for common pine wood is found. The results of the measurement of Brinell hardness, microhardness, Young’s modulus, and main components of thermal diffusivity tensor for three perpendicular cuts are found to be correlated. It is shown that the mechanical properties correlate better with the ratio of longitude to transversal thermal diffusivity coefficients than with the respective individual absolute values. The mechanical characteristics with the highest correlation with the abovementioned ratio are found to be the ratio of Young’s moduli in longitude and transversal directions. Our technique allows a comparative express assessment of wood mechanical properties by means of a contactless non-destructive measurement of its thermal properties using dynamic thermal imaging instead of laborious and material-consuming destructive mechanical tests.