Determination of porous texture in zirconia gels from adsorption isotherm measurements, small angle neutron scattering and thermoporometry

Abstract Zirconia gels have been prepared using a technique where the oxide is precipated within a polymer (polyacrylamide) matrix. With this process large (>1mm) gel spheres can be formed in the wet state. These can be dried using different techniques (solvent displacement, evaporation in air) to give gels of controlled porosity. The microstructural changes which occur on drying the gels have been investigated using nitrogen adsorption isotherms, thermoporometry and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). From SANS, it has been shown that the gels have a fractal structure composed of clusters of small (