Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline Cr2O3 and ZrO2 ceramic materials.

A novel methodology based on a hybrid approach has been evolved for synthesizing nearly monodisperse nanocrystalline oxides. The approach basically involves precipitation of gelatinous hydroxide in liquid phase hydrolysis and subsequent temperature programmed calcination to obtain nanocrystalline oxide. Cr2O3 and ZrO2 have been synthesized through this route. This paper describes synthesis procedures giving details of temperature windows required for this synthesis. In addition, solid state analytical technique like X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Photoluminescence (PL) have been used to characterize these materials. Especially PL was used to derive information on confinement effect. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM), and Scanning Near Field Optical Microscope (SNOM) were used to derive morphology.