Fabrication of ZrO₂/ceramic nanocomposite for water purification

In this study, ZrO₂ nanoparticles were prepared by successful microwave irradiation cohesive method. Compared to conventional methods, the advantages of microwave synthesis, very short reaction time and small particle production with narrow size distribution, high purity, efficient heating, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, uniform and special heat distribution and increase the speed of the reaction. On the other hand, ZrO₂ is a highly resistant material to crack and fracture propagation, high thermal expansion, excellent conductivity and low thermal conductivity. In this type of synthesis, the aqueous solution containing Zr(NO₃)₄.5H₂O and NaOH was exposed to 650 W microwave radiation. The obtained sediments were characterized by FT-IR and UV-vis analyzes. The sediments were uniformly coated on a ceramic membrane and a very thin layer formed by a wet layer on the substrate. The evaporation and drying process was performed under constant conditions. In this work, the ceramic membrane was used because of its apparent advantages, including high stability, long life, high flux and low deposition. The results showed that according to the XRD diagram based on the Shearer equation, the ZrO₂ nanoparticles had crystalline order and sharp and distinct peaks. The FESEM images also showed that the morphology of the tubular structure was oriented towards the tetragonal and nanoparticles with dimensions less than 100 nm on the ceramic surface.