Ytrria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nanoparticle agglomerates were fabricated by a spray dry method and were directly sprayed using atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) with a current of 300 A and 500 A. A commercially supplied nanostructured YSZ powder (sintered) was also sprayed under the same conditions for comparison. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope (OM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized to characterize the feedstock powder and coatings. Weibull plots were used to analyze the performance of the nanostructured coatings. The lower 300 A operating current resulted in a higher portion of nanostructure retention at the expense of coating quality. An approximate 10% increase in porosity and a noticeable decrease in grain size (similar to 104 nm) were obtained by spraying non-heat treated agglomerates with a 500 A current. The thermal conductivity (400-600 degrees C) was evaluated using the one-dimensional, steady state Fourier's law of heat conduction. Next, lower thermal conductivity (similar to 1.3 W m(-1) K-1 at 600 degrees C) was identified in coatings engineered at 500 A from agglomerated powder with no heat treatment. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.