Effects of atmosphere and stabilizer on the decomposition and crystallization of polyacetylacetonatozirconium

The present study fully reports the decomposition of polyacetylacetonatozirconium (PAZ) in air with thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The influence of water vapor on the decomposition of PAZ was characterized with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Crystallization and phase transformation of PAZ were studied by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The experimental results show that water vapor promotes the decomposition of PAZ and crystallization of zirconia compared with air. Furthermore, the effect of different amount of stabilizer Y(NO3)3·6H2O on the pyrolysis and phase stabilization of PAZ shows that NO3 − was beneficial to the oxidation of organic components and the formation of Y2O3 could stabilize tetragonal zirconia and hinder grain growth.