Preparation of ZrO_2 Micro Beads by Sol-Gel Method

摘要

ZrO_2 micro micro beads are widely used as abrasive media in many areas. This paper introduced a sol-gel process for preparing ZrO_2 micro beads. Zirconium nitrate solution and urea were mixed to prepare a sol and the sol was emitted into an ammonia solution through some nozzles to form uniform droplets by vibrating dispersion method. During this process, spherical sol droplets first were formed by their surface tension in air, and then were surface-hardened in touching with ammonia gas and last the microspheres became gelatin completely in the ammonia solution. The spheres were treated successively by aging, washing, drying, calcing and sintering to yield ZrO_2 ceramic micro beads. The crystal structure and microstructure of ZrO_2 micro beads were characterized by XRD and SEM. The results indicated that sol-gel process can be used to prepare ZrO_2 ceramic micro beads with good sphericity and uniform distribution of diameter.