Conversion of egg shell membrane to inorganic porous CexZr1−xO2 fibrous network

The binary system CeO2–ZrO2 is thermally stable and has superior reduction–oxidation properties. It has been commonly used in the three-way catalytic converters for automobiles. In this work, an inorganic biomorphic porous CexZr1−xO2 fibrous network was successfully synthesized by using the egg shell membrane (ESM) as templates, and its morphology was a perfect replica of the original ESM. The synthesis involved a simple infiltration and calcination process. A fresh ESM was peeled from a chicken egg shell. It was soaked in a Ce(NO3)3 and Zr(NO3)4 mixture before it was calcined at 700 °C in ambient environment. The fibers in the biomorphic network had diameter ranged from 1 to 4 μm, and they were composed of CexZr1−xO2 nanocrystallites having an average grain size of ∼10 nm.