Abstract
Hollow zirconia (HZ) nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized by a simple, versatile, and an efficient methodology based on sol–gel technique. Before gelation, zirconia sols of different molarities are treated ultrasonically for 10 min with sugar as a template. XRD results reveal that higher molarity of the sol results in higher tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2) content. SEM images show the formation of HZ with diameter ~50 nm at relatively higher molarities of sol. Internal structure of sugar acts as an initiator for hydrolysis of zirconia, resulting in the formation of a smooth zirconia shell on the sugar surface. Sugar has been separated carefully for the formation of HZ NPs. FT-IR spectrum shows the formation of ZrO2 bond along with the appearance of stretching C–C bond in NPs synthesized using the highest molar sol. As-synthesized ZrO2 NPs have high value of hardness (up to 852 HV). These optimized HZ NPs can be used as capsule for drug delivery, template for synthesis of controlled-size NPs in biological implants, etc. To the best of our knowledge, HZ NPs, using sugar as template, have never been reported through sol–gel method.
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