A Novel Non-Aqueous Solvent Chemical Process to Synthesize Nano-ZrO2

Abstract

This paper reports a novel non-aqueous solvent chemical process to prepare nano ZrO2 powders. ZrOCl2•6H2O and urea were directly dissolved into an organic solvent of glycol. After this solution was put into an oven and reacted at 950C for 2 h, a transparent gel was obtained. As-received gel was heated at 2100C for 5 hrs to remove glycol, and dry powders were obtained. Then the powders were calcined at 7500C, and monoclinic phase of ZrO2 was obtained. With different concentration of ZrOCl2, a range of nano ZrO2 powders were obtained. Furthermore, a surfactant of polyglycol was added into the solution to improve the dispersion of nano-particles in the gel. XRD analysis confirmed the monoclinic phase of ZrO2. SEM imaging showed the characteristics of nanoparticles. BET analysis was employed to test the aggregation of as-received nano ZrO2 particles. Considering the effects of both the concentration of ZrOCl2 and the surfactant, the optimized synthesis process of nano ZrO2 particles was formed.