The sol−gel method was employed to prepare the precursor of
zirconium oxide by the reaction
of zirconyl chloride octahydrate
(ZrOCl2·8H2O and EDTA in ammonia.
The reaction of ZrOCl2·
8H2O and the ionized complexing agent
R(COO-)
n
was achieved through
sequential hydrolysis
(4ZrOCl2·8H2O + 20H2O →
[Zr4(OH)8(OH2)16]8+
+ 8Cl-) and polymerization
([Zr4(OH)8(OH2)16]8+
+ R(COO-)
n
→
[Zr4(OH)8-n
(OH2)16(−OOC)
n
R]8+
and
[Zr4(OH)8(OH2)16-n
(−OOC)
n
R]8+).
The effect
of the reaction conditions, including temperature, the molar ratio of
ZrOCl2·8H2O, the content
of NH3, and the agitation speed on the particle size
distribution, the average size of particle,
and the viscosity of the sol are investigated in detail. A
rational reaction mechanism, which
accounts for the formation and the growth of the particles and the
viscosity of the sol, is proposed
to explain the experimental results satisfactorily.
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