Green synthesis of zirconia nanoparticles using the modified Pechini method and characterization of its optical and electrical properties

Abstract

Zirconia nanoparticles with the cubic phase were prepared from zirconium acetate and lemon juice as the precursors. Then, the effect of sucrose addition on improving the particle size and the agglomeration of product was investigated. The particle size of as-synthesized nanoparticles was obtained using FESEM. The results showed that the as-obtained product with the mix of lemon juice (20 mL) and sucrose had a better morphology with the mean particle size of about 21 nm. These nanoparticles were selected and further characterized by EDS, AAS, XRD, UV–Vis, and PL spectroscopy. The EDS and AAS revealed the presence of Mg and Ca in the sample introduced from lemon juice. Also, XRD confirmed the formation of the cubic-phase zirconia. The synthesized cubic ZrO₂ nanoparticles exhibited a broad photoluminescence in the UV–Vis region. Then, a pellet from these nanoparticles was prepared and the electrical property of this sample was measured in the temperature range of 450–750 °C using four-probe techniques. The results revealed that these zirconia nanoparticles could have a potential application as an electrolyte material in the intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells.

Graphical Abstract