Preparation of Ultrafine Zirconia Spherical Powder by Nano-reactor of Microemulsion

The water droplets in the microemulsion system of water/cyclohexane/hexyl alcohol/ Triton-100 can be seen as the naono reactors which solubilize zirconium oxychloride and ammonia separately. The precipitation reactions will take place in the confined spaces determined by the droplets size. The minute original reactors help us obtain ultrafine spherical zirconia powder with uniform diameter distribution and good calcination activity. A variety of synthesis parameters for the preparation process were investigated. The results show that the concentration of zirconium oxychloride, molar ratio of water to surfactant (W) and calcination temperature are the predominant factors to determine powder's performance.