Abstract:

Pure zirconia and zirconia containing Y or Ce were prepared by Supercritical Drying Method (SCD) followed by calcination in air at temperature up to 700℃. It was found that the zirconia containing Y or Ce possessed much higher specific surface area and larger pore volume than that of pure zirconia. The BET surface area of 3.4Y2O3-96.6ZrO2 without calcination and that calcined at 700℃ were 376.2 m2﹒g-1 and 80.0 m2﹒g-1 respectively, while the corresponding values of pure zirconia were 248.0 m2 ﹒g-1 and 47.8 m2﹒g-1 respectively. It was postulated that the better textural properties of zirconia containing Y or Ce were resulted from preventing zirconia particles sintering in the presence of Y or Ce additive. All of these samples made by SCD had a well-developed mesoporous texture.

Key words: ZrO₂, Supercritical drying, Texture, Ultra-fine particle