Preparation of spherical hydrous-zirconia nanoparticles by low temperature hydrolysis in a reverse microemulsion

The zirconia nanoparticles are prepared via thermal hydrolysis of zirconyl nitrate solution below 95 °C in a stable microemulsion. Hydrolysis of zirconia salt solution was confined in the droplets of the water/CTAB/hexanol reverse microemulsion where the aqueous phase of zirconyl nitrate solution was aged at various temperatures to produce hydrous-zirconia particles. Particles size, shape, and size distribution of hydrous-zirconia varied greatly with temperature and composition of reverse microemulsion. The resulting particles are retrieved and then characterized by a transmission electron microscope for particle size, a TGA/DTA thermal analyser for reaction evolution of powder. The X-ray diffractomerter is applied for the determination of crystal phase and crystallite size of resulting particles before and after calcination.