Partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) exhibits excellent physical, mechanical, electrical, chemical, thermal, and bioactive properties. Therefore, it is frequently used as a material for thermal barrier coatings, refractories, oxygen-permeating membranes, dental and bone implants. In this study, magnesia-partially stabilized zirconia nanoparticles were successfully prepared from zirconium silicates and MgSO4 assisted with PEG-6000 via a facile templating method. The MgO concentration was varied from 1%–10% in wt% of ZrO2. Zirconium silicates were initially converted to Zr-precursor solution, exhibiting pH 3. Then, the appropriate amount of the Mg-precursor was mixed with the proper amount of the Zr-precursor solution. A 10%(w/v) PEG-6000 solution was added into the PSZ precursor solution at a ratio of the precursor-to-PEG volumes of about 15:1 under stirring and heating, resulting in a very fine white gel. The gel was filtered, dried, and then calcined at elevated temperatures of 600, 800, and 1000 °C. The characteristics of the final product were then evaluated. According to the experimental results, the MgO concentration influences the ZrO2 phase transformation at elevated calcination temperatures. In this study, the lower the MgO dopant concentration added into ZrO2, the more stable the t- ZrO2 phase in PSZ samples at high temperatures. However, the MgO presence is detected as periclase in all samples with a very low peak intensity at elevated calcination temperatures. The obtained PSZ samples consist of nanoparticles and high agglomeration, some of particles exhibit elongated and rod-like shapes. The PEG existence during the PSZ preparation has restrained particle interaction and aggregation of the as-synthesized PSZ samples, leading to PSZ nanoparticles evolution.

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One-dimensional nanostructures of gamma alumina exhibiting excellent properties such as a large surface area and high porosity are widely used as catalysts and adsorbents and in other applications. Here, we report the effect of ultrasound treatment on infrared spectrum, mineral phase, morphology, and textural properties of gamma alumina nanorods, which were successfully synthesized from salt-starch precursors through a facile precipitation method. We used aluminum ammonium carbonate hydroxide-starch derived from aluminum nitrate at pH 9 and a 2% (w/v) starch slurry, under normal conditions with ultrasound treatment as a precursor. The as-synthesized alumina were then calcined at 600°C. We observed the infra-red spectrum of the assynthesized alumina treated by ultrasound show typical absorption bands of functional that groups. Ultrasonically treated assynthesized alumina at 600°C consist of a pure gamma alumina phase with higher intensity and a microstructure of nanorod-like shapes with aspect ratios of 217.5, indicating a mesoporous material, and exhibit a higher specific surface area and pore volume than that of alumina synthesized under normal conditions.

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Stabilized zirconia is a promising material due to its great physical and chemical properties, and thermal stability. In this work, MgO was used as a stabilizer in ZrO2 to obtain Magnesia Partially Stabilized Zirconia (MSZ) nanomaterials assisted with PEG as a template through conventional mixing process. Zirconium hydroxides prepared from local zircon and MgCO3 were used as MSZ precursors. Meanwhile, the stabilizer concentration was varied from 1 to 4 wt% of ZrO2. The effect of the stabilizer concentration and the calcination temperature to the crystallinity and the morphological properties of the MSZ nanoparticles were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The ZrO2 content in the zirconium hydroxides precursors is accounting 89.52 wt% of the total and exhibits the dominant m-phase at 1000 °C. Meanwhile, the tetragonal and the monoclinic phases were formed in all MSZ samples at a temperature of 800–1000 °C. The as-synthesized MSZ samples show typical FT-IR spectra, consisting of the metal–oxygen bonds at below 500 cm−1 and the organic functional groups ranging at 1000–3000 cm−1. The ZrO2 morphologies exhibit spherical-like shapes with elongated agglomeration at 800 °C. In addition, the average particle sizes of the final product ranges from 20 to 50 nm. At a sintering temperature of 1500 °C, MSZ samples show the monoclinic phase of ZrO2 and densities in the range of 3.95–4.14 g/cm3.