Sol-gel preparation of zirconium oxide

Journal Article · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Preprints of Papers, American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry

OSTI ID:420494

Ward, D A; Ko, E I ^[1]

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1. Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

A sol-gel preparation involves first the formation of a sol, which is a suspension of solid particles in a liquid, then of a gel, which is a diphasic material with a solid encapsulating a liquid. The liquid can be removed from a gel by either conventional drying (such as by using an oven) to obtain a product known as a xerogel, or by drying with supercritical extraction (often referred to as supercritical drying for short) to give an aerogel. Preparing catalytic materials with the sol-gel method has received increasing attention in recent years because of its versatility and excellent control over a product`s properties. In fact, there are a host of experimental variables, generally referred to as the sol-gel parameters, which can impact on the physical and chemical characteristics of a sample. To date, most studies have focused on sol-gel parameters that are important in the first step which is the formation of a gel. There has been relatively less work on the subsequent processing steps: aging, drying, and heat treatment. Because these steps are often interrelated, one should take a broader viewpoint and consider all of them in fine-tuning a sol-gel product. In this paper we discuss our recent results on the sol-gel preparation of zirconia with an emphasis on three key parameters: the gel time, the starting precursor, and the drying conditions. In our view these parameters, when fully understood and explored, will put us in a better position to develop materials of desirable properties systematically. We are interested in zirconia because of its potential catalytic applications in general and its effectiveness as a support for superacids in particular. Furthermore, the phase transformation of zirconia as a ceramic material is of great interest.

• OSTI ID: 420494
• Report Number(s): CONF-950402--
• Journal Information: Preprints of Papers, American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry, Journal Name: Preprints of Papers, American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 40; ISSN ACFPAI; ISSN 0569-3772
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
DRYING
PRECURSOR
PROCESSING
SOL-GEL PROCESS
SYNTHESIS
TIME DEPENDENCE
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES