Effect of Yttrium Doping on Structural, Optical and Morphological Properties of ZrO2 Nanoparticles

In this study, pure and Y-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a simple microwave irradiation method. The nanoparticles were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrum (EDS). XRD patterns of Y-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles confirmed the cubic structure, while FESEM results showed that the synthesized nanoparticles have polycrystalline nature and spherical morphology. TEM images of pure ZrO2 nanoparticles showed agglomerated spherical nanoparticles with sizes that ranged between 18 and -52 nm; whereas the Y-doped ZrO2 (15 wt%) nanoparticles showed sphere-like shape with sizes in the range of 38 and -64 nm. The optical properties of pure ZrO2 and Y-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy.