Effect of Precursor and Solvent on Morphology of Zirconia Nanoparticles Produced by Combustion Aerosol Synthesis

Zirconia nanoparticles were synthesized using a flame‐based system involving spray droplet combustion of different precursor solutions. The characteristics of the feed were varied by varying the precursor compound, precursor concentration, and solvent type, and by using droplets of different mean sizes. When large droplets were used, agglomerated particles were formed when an organometallic precursor was used and large cenospheric particles were produced when an inorganic precursor was used. Reduction of the droplet size to a number‐mean droplet diameter of 3.2 μm resulted in the production of solid spherical particles regardless of the precursor type. When an inertial impactor was used to eliminate droplets larger than 2.3 μm, the large particles in the final product were eliminated and uniformly sized solid zirconia particles having a smaller mean size were produced. The final particle size did not vary with the concentration of the precursor, indicating that multiple ceramic particles resulted from each precursor‐containing droplet.