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.

Keywords:

• Crystal growth
• Nanomaterials
• ZrO₂
• Hydrothermal

Financial support from the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2010AA03A408), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51062004) are gratefully acknowledged.