Synthesis and characterization of metal-doped zirconia minispheres by sol-gel based freeze drying method

As the addition of metal dopant is expected to improve the application versatility of zirconia minispheres, the present study, reports the development of zirconia minispheres by adding metal dopants iron and copper individually and also together as a hybrid combination with zirconia in various weight percentage using sol-gel based freeze drying method.The developed metal doped zirconia minispheres were calcinated at elevated temperatures. Both calcinated and uncalcinated minispheres were characterizedfor identifying their thermal stability, absorption, crystalline, morphological and conductance behaviors. It was found that the calcinated zirconia minispheres doped with copper and iron in a hybrid combination possess good conductance, higher thermal stability, and a stable crystalline structure.