Preparation of zirconia aerogel by heating of alcohol–aqueous salt solution

Using zirconyl nitrate dihydrate as starting material, zirconia aerogel with high specific surface area was prepared by heating zirconyl nitrate dihydrate solution with an alcohol–aqueous mixture and supercritical drying method (SCFD). It was characterized by XRD, TEM and BET methods. The specific area of primary ZrO2 aerogel could reach 675.6 m2/g which was much higher than that of documents so far. While both the specific surface area and pore volume decreased markedly on increasing the calciniation temperature. Contrast with the powder synthesized by ordinary trend, the content of t-ZrO2 in the aerogel increased when the calcination temperature improved from 500 to 700 °C, the percentage of tetragonal phase was 86% at 700 °C. And it was very interesting that the particle size of the aerogel was bigger than 30 nm after being roasted in 1000 °C, the tetragonal phase still existed.