Sol-gel synthesis of mesoporous spherical zirconia

Mesoporous spherical zirconia (ZrO2) with a surface area of 113 m(2) g(-1) and average pore size of 5.0 nm is prepared by a sol-gel method with ZrOCl2 center dot 8H(2)O precursors and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfonate (SDS) templates with subsequent annealing at 500 degrees C in air. After calcination at 700 degrees C, the tetragonal phase transfers to monoclinic zirconia and the surface area is reduced to 26 m(2) g(-1). The mesoporous spherical structure, which is assembled by aggregation of the ZrO2 nanoparticles, is confirmed by characterization using low and wide-angle X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mesoporous ZrO2 with a surface area of 113 m(2) g(-1) has a higher adsorption for Cs ion (357 mg g(-1)). For the 700 degrees C calcinated ZrO2, the absorption capacity at equilibrium is only 188 mg g(-1).