“…Due to the exceptional properties, such as inherent oxidation resistance, high thermal expansion coefficient, low thermal conductivity, excellent thermal stability and high ionic conductivity, zirconia find wide applications in high-temperature structural materials [1,2], thermal barrier coatings [3,4], oxygen sensors [5,6], interferometric filters [7], and electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) [8,9]. It is generally known that pure zirconia exists in three crystallographic phases: low-temperature monoclinic phase (m-ZrO 2 , space group P2 1 /c), intermediate-temperature tetragonal phase (t-ZrO 2 , space group P4 2 /nmc) and high-temperature cubic phase (c-ZrO 2 , space group Fm3m).…”