Tailoring the grain size of zirconia polycrystalline fibers by cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide

In the study, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) has been found to have a significant effect on the grain size of zirconia (ZrO2) polycrystalline fibers from a precursor of polyacetylacetonatozirconium (PAZ). A relation between the variation in the grain size of the fibers sintered at 1000 °C for 1 h and CTAB addition has been established by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and matching the results by a Gaussian Function. The grain size increased firstly and then decreased at an elevated weight percent of CTAB with respect to PAZ. ZrO2 nucleation at 500 °C and grain growth during thermal treatment between 500 and 1000 °C were investigated by thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the addition of CTAB accelerated the decomposition of PAZ. The enhanced decomposition promoted ZrO2 nucleation and the removal of residual carbon. While excess CTAB resulted in the increase of residual carbon on grain surface. The general kinetics of the grain growth was evaluated by Arrhenius equation and the results did matched well with the variation in grain size.