Nanostructured ZrO2 powders: hydrothermal synthesis, doping modification, morphology, and phase evolution

Abstract

The authors report the hydrothermal synthesis of undoped ZrO2 nanospindles and yttria as well as ceria doped or dual doped ZrO2 nanoparticles at a temperature as low as 160°C. Y(NO3)3.6H2O, Ce(Ac)3.nH2O and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide were employed as modifiers to control the morphology and phase composition of the final product. Composite phase ZrO2 nanospindles and superfine Y2O3–ZrO2, CeO2–ZrO2 as well as Y2O3–CeO2–ZrO2 nanoparticles were successfully obtained independent on the absence or presence of Y2O3 and CeO2. However, the addition of Y(NO3)3.6H2O and Ce(Ac)3.nH2O dramatically influence the morphology and stabilization of the metastable tetragonal ZrO2. The undoped pure ZrO2 nanospindles show diameters of several tens of nanometers and lengths of ∼100 nm. Differently, the doped or dual doped ZrO2 nanoparticles have almost same size with diameters of ∼5 nm independent of the hydrothermal time, which is consistent with the results of crystallite size calculated from XRD patterns using Scherrer equation.