Sol–gel synthesis of mesoporous spherical zirconia

Abstract

Mesoporous spherical zirconia (ZrO₂) with a surface area of 113 m² g⁻¹ and average pore size of 5.0 nm is prepared by a sol–gel method with ZrOCl₂·8H₂O precursors and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfonate (SDS) templates with subsequent annealing at 500 °C in air. After calcination at 700 °C, the tetragonal phase transfers to monoclinic zirconia and the surface area is reduced to 26 m² g⁻¹. The mesoporous spherical structure, which is assembled by aggregation of the ZrO₂ nanoparticles, is confirmed by characterization using low and wide-angle X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mesoporous ZrO₂ with a surface area of 113 m² g⁻¹ has a higher adsorption for Cs ion (357 mg g⁻¹). For the 700 °C calcinated ZrO₂, the absorption capacity at equilibrium is only 188 mg g⁻¹.