Electrospinning zirconia fiber from a suspension

A zirconia suspension containing 5-10 nm size zirconia particles was modified by adding different amounts of polymer solution to enable electrospinning of zirconia fibers from a range of compositions. The electrospun fibers were heat treated at 600 degrees and 1200 degrees C, and analysis of size distribution reveals that zirconia fibers down to about 200 nm in diameter can be prepared in this way, in contrast to other spinning processes, which are able to produce zirconia fibers having diameters >= 3000 nm.