mehdi emamalizadeh - ۱. Ph.D. Student, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Malek-e-Ashtar University of Technology, Shahin-Shahr, Iran
Mohammad Mahdavi - Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Malek-e-Ashtar University of Technology, Shahin-Shahr, Iran
Arash Shokrolahi - Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Malek-e-Ashtar University of Technology, Shahin-Shahr, Iran

In the present research, as the initial phase, the ZrB۲ nano-powders are synthesized at low-temperature through heating a mixture of ZrCl۴, B۲O۳, and Na metal in a molar ratio of ۱:۲:۴ at ۶۵۰ to ۹۵۰ ºC under pure argon atmosphere. The effect of various parameters involved in the phase transformation and morphology of the ZrB۲ nano-powders are investigated. Also examined systematically are the influence of the stoichiometry of the reactants and different factors bearing upon the granulation of ZrB۲ particles. In particular, we have studied the effects of adding NaCl salt as well as thermodynamic parameters playing roles in the above synthesis process. The morphology of samples is characterized with the help of scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The XRD results shows the presence of ZrB۲ single phase in the product. The obtained images indicate that the synthesized powders have a crystallite nano metric size ranging from ۱۱ to ۲۶ nm. The TEM images and statistical size distribution also reveal the presence of a narrow size distribution of ZrB۲ nano-particles. Also explored and reported are various enhancement parameters like temperature, reaction time, and diluent component on the quality of the synthesized ZrB۲ nano-powders.

Ultrahigh-temperature ceramics, Zirconium Diboride, Low-temperature synthesis