[Preparation of zirconia for high performance liquid chromatography using sol-gel technology]

Zirconia sol was prepared by dissolving zirconyl chloride in water, and the sol formed gel in water/cyclohexane W/O style emulsion to obtain monodispersed particles of ZrO2(2-10 microns). After being washed and classified, the zirconia particles (3-5 microns) were collected and calcined at 800 degrees C to remove the organic residues on the surface of the particles. The mean pore diameter, specific surface area and specific pore volume of the zirconia particles were found to be 14.2 nm, 11.2 m2/g, and 0.04 cm3/g, respectively, by means of the BET method. The adsorption behavior of various organic compounds on the ZrO2 shows it will be useful as a column packing material for high performance liquid chromatography.