Effect of dopants on the properties of metal-doped zirconia prepared by the glycothermal method

The effects of dopants on zirconia prepared via the glycothermal method were investigated by XRD to determine the crystal structure and crystallite size. Morphologies of products were observed by SEM. The basic sites of zirconia were studied by CO2-temperature programmed desorption (CO2-TPD). The functional group in the samples was determined using IR. The intensity of Zr3+, characterized by ESR, could be described as the oxygen coordinatively unsaturated Zr sites. The results suggest that doping elements can modify the surface chemistry of ZrO2 to form hydroxyl groups and surface energies depending on the structure (cubic, tetragonal) in different dense phase. ESR peaks of Pb- and Bi-doped zirconia are different from the others, which showed high intensity of Zr3+.