Solvothermal synthesis of size-controlled ZrO2 microspheres via hydrolysis of alkoxides modified with acetylacetone

We prepared ZrO2 particles from the solutions containing Zr(OC3H7n)4, H2O, n-C3H7OH and acetylacetone (acac) via solvothermal treatment at 150 °C. The particle size and shape depended on the molar composition of the precursor solutions. Micron-sized spheres consisting of cubic and tetragonal ZrO2 with low crystallinity were obtained via hydrolysis of Zr(OC3H7n)4 modified with acac, and the size of the spheres decreased from 2–10 μm to 0.5 μm with increasing amount of H2O and n-C3H7OH at constant n-C3H7OH/H2O mole ratios. The non-aggregated, homogeneous microspheres can be observed even by optical microscopy. The crystallinity of the ZrO2 spheres were improved by the heat treatment at 600 °C, and the spherical shape remained during the heat treatment.