Preparation of zirconia powders by sol–gel route of sodium glycozirconate complex

Abstract

Zirconia powders were prepared by a sol–gel method, using sodium glycozirconate complex as precursor synthesized via the Oxide One Pot Synthesis (OOPS) process. Gelation of this precursor was achieved through the variation of the hydrolysis ratio without the use of the dopants. The gel samples were also calcined at different temperatures. The resulting zirconia was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The solid materials obtained after heat treatment at 500 °C by varying the hydrolysis ratio have large surface areas of 154–220 m 2 g −1 and a narrow pore size distribution in the mesopore region. By variation of the heat treatment, the zirconia xerogels existed in either an amorphous, tetragonal, or monoclinic form at room temperature. Based on XRD data the first identifiable crystalline structure developed from the amorphous phase was the tetragonal polymorph, which was formed between 500 and 800 °C. When the temperature was raised to 1000 °C, zirconia powder with a monoclinic structure was obtained. Surface areas about 280 m 2 g −1 was obtained after calcination at 400 °C, which drop to ca. 70 m 2 g −1 following treatment at 1000 °C.