Fabrication and growing kinetics of highly dispersed gadolinium zirconate nanoparticles

Abstract

Highly dispersed gadolinium zirconate (GZ) nanoparticles with fluorite microstructure were successfully synthesized using a co-precipitation method, and their phase composition and microstructure, formation mechanism, and grain growth kinetics were investigated. The results suggest that the nanoparticles were obtained through hydroxide dehydration followed by solid phase reaction. High dispersion was accomplished using ethanol solvent to reduce the hydrogen bond and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) surfactant to increase the electrostatic repulsion between the nanoparticles. The grain growth activation energy of GZ powders calcined at lower temperature (< 1200 °C) is 86.5 kJ/mol (Ql), and the grain growth activation energy of GZ powders calcined at higher temperature (> 1200 °C) is 148.4 kJ/mol (Qh). The current study shows that the optimal process to synthesize dispersed GZ nanoparticles includes ethanol solvent, 3 wt.% SDBS surfactant, and 1100 °C as calcining temperature.