Highly dispersed tetragonal zirconia nanoparticles: Facile hydrothermal synthesis and their photocatalytic property

Nanosized tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO 2 ) with high dispersity and small size was made using an improved hydrothermal method in this work. To synthesize nanoscale ZrO 2 , the precursor was generated by the reverse precipitation method. Zirconium nitrate pentahydrate and sodium hydroxide were used as raw materials and precipitant, respectively. Glycerol was used as a surface stabilizer to inhibit the early agglomeration of ZrO 2 nuclei. After hydrothermal treatment, the ZrO 2 powders were obtained by drying through azeotropic distillation. The hydrothermal treatment was designed with the aim of optimizing the reaction time, temperature, pH, and Zr 4 + concentration. The synthesized ZrO 2 was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometer, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N 2 adsorption-desorption analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The dispersibility and photocatalytic performance of the nanoparticles were improved by the azeotropic distillation drying method. The prepared ZrO 2 was a pure tetragonal phase structure with a particle size of 7–10 nm and a specific surface area of 129.89 m 2 /g. Under the condition of xenon lamp (300 W) irradiation for 2 h, the degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) by ZrO 2 was as high as 97.14 %. Nanosized zirconia with high dispersity and small size was made using an improved hydrothermal method. The prepared ZrO 2 was a pure tetragonal phase structure with a particle size of 7–10 nm. Under the condition of xenon lamp (300 W) irradiation for 2 h, the degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) by tetragonal ZrO 2 was as high as 97.14 %.