OBTAINING YSZ NANOPARTICLES BY THE SOL-GEL METHOD WITH SUCROSE AND PECTIN AS ORGANIC PRECURSORS

Production of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) nanoparticles with the sol-gel method us-ing new organic precursors: sucrose and pectin, which are abundant and cost effective, is described. Different analyses of the produced nanoparticles are presented. The crys-tal structure is analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The sintering process is studied by thermal analysis (TA), and suggestions are made for processes responsible for the exo-and endothermic weight losses seen in the TA profiles. The particle size is determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), supported by XRD-determination of the crystallite size using the Scherrer formula, and the Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller (BET) adsorption analysis used to determine the specific surface area. All the analyses give con-sistent results, and show nanoparticles of a fairly uniform, small size, with a cubic crystal structure, and fully of the same quality as is produced using the known organic precursors