Facile molten salt synthesis of zirconia whiskers

Abstract

ZrO2 whiskers have been synthesized by a facile molten salt method using ZrOCl2 ? 8H2O and Na3PO4 ? 12H2O as the zirconium source and molten salt, respectively. Differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses, Xray diffraction analysis, field emission scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope were employed to characterize the heating process of the precursor mixture, phase composition of the assynthesized ZrO2 whiskers and the effect of reaction temperature on the synthesis of ZrO2 whiskers. The results show that the ZrO2 whiskers synthesized at 900?C have an average aspect ratio of 30 and preferentially grow along [010] direction. The formation of sodium zirconium phosphate [Na9-4xZrx(PO4)3] (x = 1, 2) and the reaction temperature play an important role in the growth of ZrO2 whiskers. This work also suggests an effective route for mass production of high quality ZrO2 whiskers.