In this paper,zirconia monolith was synthesized using Urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin as a template. The inner structure and property of the prepared materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder x-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and nitrogen adsorption instrument. SEM results have shown that interconnected skeletons and textural pores existed in zirconia monolith as well as in its template. Because UF resin had thick skeleton walls and large textural pores, they could be molded to any required shape and size without cracking or shrinkage. The skeletons and textural pore size of the UF resin can be tailored by adding different amount of PEG in the original prepolymer to induce phase separation. By adopting such templates, morphology and textural pore size of the zirconia replica were easily controlled. Nitrogen adsorption experiment has shown mesopores existed in the skeletons of the zirconia monolith. In addition, we have also studied several important parameters that influence the integrity of the zirconia monolith, such as reaction conditions, kinds and concentration of the zirconia precursor, etc.

Synthesis of bimodal zirconia monolith using urea-formaldehyde resin as a template

248th National Meeting (2014)

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