Effects of organic additives on hydrothermal zirconia nanocrystallites

Abstract

Phase-pure tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia nanocrystallites of various particle sizes and morphologies have been prepared hydrothermally using organic additives. Pure tetragonal zirconia could be obtained in the presence of polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol and di- and tri-ethanolamine while alkyl halides favored the formation of monoclinic zirconia. The effects of the additives on the phase composition of the products was studied, and possible formation mechanisms are proposed. The additives also affected the particulate properties such as particle size and morphology. The as-prepared tetragonal zirconia particles were spherical or elliptical in shape and of size ca. 8–30 nm, and the monoclinic zirconia particles were spindle-like and of size ca. 20–40 nm.