Patent ID: 7572431

Claim:
A method for preparing monodispersed, spherical ZrO 2 particles, pure and free of foreign oxides, comprising the steps of: preparing equal parts of an alcohol solution wherein a first part is mixed with deionized water and a second part is mixed with a zirconium-alkoxide using an R-value of 5 to get approximately 500 nm to approximately 600 nm ZrO 2 particles, wherein the R-value comprises the ratio of molar concentrations of water to the zirconium-alkoxide; adding a polymeric steric stabilizer to the first part of an alcohol solution with deionized water, wherein the stabilizer is in a concentration of approximately 1.0 to approximately 2.0 g/L and stirring over time forming solution one; dissolving the zirconium-alkoxide in the second part of the alcohol solution and forming solution two; mixing the solution one and the solution two together; stirring the mixture for approximately 4 hours; holding the stirred solution under static conditions for approximately 24 hours to form a resultant material; crushing the resultant material; and calcining the crushed material at a temperature of approximately 400 to approximately 600 degrees C. to prepare spherical zirconium oxide particles exhibiting approximately 100% metastable tetragonal structure at room temperature.