title: Low temperature synthesis of monodisperse nanoscaled ZrO2 with a large specific surface area.
abstract: Thermal decomposition of Zr(C(2)O(4))(2)·4H(2)O within an autoclave or in a conventional tube furnace at temperatures below 380 °C resulted in nano- and micron-sized ZrO(2), respectively. Reactions under autogenic pressure yielded monodisperse monoclinic (m) and tetragonal (t) ZrO(2) nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~8 nm and interconnected t-ZrO(2) nanoparticles with diameters of ~4 nm, depending on the synthesis temperature. Samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) associated with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman microspectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Nanostructured zirconia materials exhibited high specific areas of 276-385 m(2) g(-1) which make them promising candidates as catalysts and catalyst supports. Co-existence of m- and t-ZrO(2) nanoparticles with diameters of 6-9 nm, i.e. above the critical particle size of 6 nm for the formation of t-ZrO(2), demonstrated that the particle size is not the only factor for stabilisation of the t-ZrO(2) modification at room temperature.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Analytische Chemie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55099 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zink
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Emmerling
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Häger
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Panthöfer
authors.forename: Muhammad Nawaz
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Tahir
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tremel
mesh_terms: D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015040:Zirconium; C028541:zirconium oxide