Fabrication of dense and porous Li2ZrO3 nanofibers with electrospinning method

Lithium zirconate (Li 2 ZrO 3 ) has been extensively studied as CO 2 capture material, electrolyte material and coating material. Most of the previous studies were focused on the powder structure, while seldom taking a consideration of fiber structure. In the present work, dense and porous Li 2 ZrO 3 nanofibers with surface area of 16 m 2  g −1 were prepared by electrospinning method. IR spectral results showed that lithium carbonate was the intermediate for the formation of Li 2 ZrO 3 . The phase transformation of Li 2 ZrO 3 underwent the pathway of amorphous precursor fibers, tetragonal zirconia and Li 2 CO 3 , tetragonal Li 2 ZrO 3 , and monoclinic Li 2 ZrO 3 . XRD and XPS results further suggested that Li 2 O diffusion from the fiber body to surface occurred for Li 2 ZrO 3 nanofibers when heat-treated above 900 °C, and the tetragonal Li 2 ZrO 3 with high surface area could be obtained at 800 °C. Bamboo structure appeared both for the dense and porous nanofibers heat-treated at 1000 °C. The high surface area and high thermal stability of tetragonal phase of Li 2 ZrO 3 make it a promising candidate in CO 2 absorption, electrolyte and coating material.