Zirconium Oxide Products in Automotive Systems

This paper will review the role of zirconium oxide in automotive systems.

Zirconium oxide has been used and been considered for use in many different applications within automotive systems. Examples include ceramics for engine liners, ionic conductors for oxygen sensors, piezoelectrics for a variety of sensors and as an ingredient of autocatalysts.

In the first three examples, ceramics, ionic conductors and piezoelectrics, the known properties of zirconium oxide containing systems have been applied to solve problems in the automobile. In the last the use of zirconia here has created an interest outside automotive applications.

This paper will also show how a knowledge of zirconia in one field can produce benefits in another and that through this synergy improved products can be brought to the marketplace