Thermal conductivity can be measured non-contact! No surface treatment is required for carbon-based materials!
Yttria-stabilized zirconia is "an oxide based on zirconia, with the addition of yttrium oxide, which stabilizes the crystal structure of zirconia at room temperature."
Applications include refractory materials, electrically conductive ceramics, materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) products, and due to its hardness and optical properties in single crystals, it is also used as a gemstone, such as cubic zirconia. In the case of fuel cell materials, thermal properties are important because the operating temperatures are high. Additionally, cubic zirconia closely resembles diamond and is often used as a diamond substitute. Like diamonds, it has a high refractive index, which gives it a sparkling appearance. The main difference lies in thermal conductivity. There are devices that can simply assess thermal properties to distinguish between diamond and zirconia. It seems that it is also used in thermal barrier coatings (TBC) for gas turbines.
The measured result for thermal diffusivity was 1.13×10^-6 m^2s^-1. This value is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower compared to diamond.
Our ThermoWave Analyzer TA allows for non-contact measurements. Many carbon-based materials can be measured without the need for surface treatment.