Yttria-stabilized zirconia slurry and methods of application thereof

A method for coating a surface of a component using an yttria-stabilized zirconia slurry, the method comprising:

• applying the yttria-stabilized zirconia slurry on an exposed portion of the surface of the component, the yttria-stabilized zirconia slurry comprising:
• a carrier fluid;
• a binder material within the carrier fluid;
• a first plurality of coarse particles dispersed within the carrier fluid and having a coarse median particle average size of greater than 10 μm to 20 μm;
• a second plurality of medium particles dispersed within the carrier fluid and having a medium median particle size of 4 μm to 10 μm;
• and
• a third plurality of fine particles dispersed within the carrier fluid and having a fine median particle size of 0.001 μm to less than 4 μm,
• wherein each of the coarse particles, medium particles, and fine particles comprise, independently, a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) constituent having a chemical formula of (ZrO2)(1-x)(Y2O3)x, wherein x is from greater than 0 to less than 1, wherein the coating extends from an internal surface nearest the surface of the component to an external surface opposite thereof, and wherein the coating has a gradient of the fine micrograins therein such that the fine micrograins have a higher concentration at the internal surface than at the external surface.