Abstract: 25vol%YAG-Al₂O₃ nanocomposite powders were prepared by the co-precipitaion method from ytrium nitrate and aluminium nitrate as starting materials.
The XRD pattern for the prepared powder calcined at 1300℃ for 1h shows well-defined peaks whose positions are almost identical
to those of stoichometic YAG and α-Al₂O₃. The powder compacts by hot-press sintering for 0.5 h at 1400℃ and 300MPa reached
a density close to the thoretical, while the normally reported hot-press sintering temperature for YAG-Al₂O₃ composites is 1600℃.
The bending strength and fracture toughness of prepared 25vol%YAG-Al₂O₃ nanocomposite were 612 MPa and 4.54 MP·m^-1/2, respectively,
which are much higher than those of monolithic Al₂O₃ and monolithic YAG, as well as higher than those reported in other studies for YAG-Al₂O₃
composites. Microstructure studies found that the nano-YAG particles were mainly located within the Al₂O₃ grains.

Key words: preparation, YAG-Al₂O₃, nanocomposite