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Submicron-sized zircon powders have been prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process. The starting products were zirconium oxychloride or oxynitrate and a water-soluble silicate. The reaction took place at 120 "C in a PTFE-lined bomb under autogenous pressure or even at 100 "C in refluxing conditions. The resulting powder has been characterized by XRD, IR, EDAX, SEM, TEM and EXAFS. Under pseudo-hydrothermal conditions, zircon was prepared as spherical particles with a very narrow size distribution (mean size 0.6 pm). Crystallinity was improved by thermal curing resulting, at 1100 "C, in disk particles (diameter 0.35 pm; thickness 0.13 pm).

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