Synthesis of Zirconia Oxide (ZrO 2) Nanofibers on Zirconnia Substrates by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis

Abstract

Zirconia oxide (ZrO2) nanofibers were synthesized using Phosphorus/water mixture as catalyst by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis CVD on the zirconia substrate at 900˚C for 1 h in N2 gas. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) examinations show that all the synthesized nanofibers have uniform surface morphology and their diameters are in the range of 100 nm. The HRTEM selected-area electron diffraction pattern (SAED) shows that crystalline ZrO2 phase exist in the nanofibers, and the energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results show that the elements of Zr and O are uniformly distributed across the nanofiber matrix. The phosphorus atoms corroded the entire Zirconia substrate surface, and the Zirconia-Phosphorus liquid-catalyzed the solid-liquid-solid mechanism is proposed to explain the growth of the nanofibers.