Synthesis of zirconia

Question 1

What is raw zirconia?

Answer 1

~ mineral form of ZrO2 is baddeleyte, but zircon (ZrSiO4) is much more abundant (australia and south africa)

Question 2

How is zirconia synthesized?

Answer 2

~ heating zircon above 1687C will result in incongruent melting to ZrO2 + silica liquid. This can be retained with rapid quenching

~ zircon powder can be injected into a plasma (>6000C), causing it to melt. On contact with a target, rapid cooling yields zirconia dendrites in a fused silica matrix. The silica is then leeched out in boiling NaOH