One-step alkali chloride-assisted solution combustion synthesis of 3YSZ nanopowders with ultrahigh specific surface area

The controlled fabrication of monodisperse yttria-stabilized zirconia powders with high specific surface area (SSA) is crucial for their application performances to be bought into full play. Herein, the 3 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) with ultrahigh SSA was synthesized by an one-step alkali chloride-assisted solution combustion process, employing urea as fuel and easily available ZrOCl₂·8H₂O as zirconium source. The effects of the alkali chloride amount/sort, urea amount and ignition temperature (T_ig) on the microstructure of the resultants were systematically investigated. The results show that the 3YSZ derived from KCl-assisted solution combustion consists of monodisperse nanocrystals with 3.2 nm in average size (D_TEM) and 378 m² g⁻¹ in SSA under the condition of stoichiometric urea-to-nitrate ratio (α = 1), 4:1 M ratio of alkali chloride to metal ions of 3YSZ (β = 4) and T_ig = 500 °C. The introduction of alkali chlorides into the combustion mixture solution plays a critical part in the formation of well-dispersed 3YSZ nanocrystals with ultrahigh SSA. The amount/sort of alkali chloride, urea amount and ignition temperature also have significant influence on the SSAs of the resultants. In summary, the approach offers a facile, efficient, scalable and cost-effective strategy for fabrication of zirconia-based oxides with ultrahigh SSA.