23. February 2018

The study concerns the synthesis and application of a novel type of ZrO2-SiO2 binary oxide system. The material was prepared via a sol-gel route, using zirconium(IV) propoxide and tetraethyl orthosilicate solutions as zirconia and silica precursors, ammonia as a promoter of hydrolysis, and ethanol as a solvent. Different amounts of reactants were used to obtain samples with ZrO2:SiO2 molar ratios of 1:1, 4:1 and 1:4. The synthesized oxide materials were additionally calcined at 1000 ºC to...