Ceria-zirconia oxides is thermodynamically favorable in a wide range of solid solution compositions, which means that ceria-zirconia is metastable with respect to phase separation. Ceria-zirconia is widely used as a component in current three-way catalytic converters. The ceria-based component of the converter has several functions, including promoting the dispersion of the noble metals in the catalyst, but also storing and releasing oxygen. The incorporation of zirconium in modern converters, forming ceria-zirconia, improves the performance of the catalyst by enhancing the resistance of the material to sintering, and simultaneously increasing the ability of the oxide to accommodate oxygen vacancies in its structure.
Zirconium perchlorate synthesized by reacting Zr(OH) with HClO, then the colorless crystals are formed by slow evaporation. Zirconium perchlorate Zirconium perchlorate is a molecular substance containing zirconium and perchlorate groups with formula Zr(ClO). Zr(ClO) is a volatile crystalline product. It can be formed by reacting zirconium tetrachloride with dry perchloric acid at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Zr(ClO) sublimes slowly in a vacuum at 70°C showing that the molecule is covalently bound rather than being ionic. The reaction also forms some zirconyl perchlorate (or zirconium oxyperchlorate) ZrO(ClO) as even apparently pure perchloric acid is in equilibrium with dichlorine heptoxide, hydronium ions and perchlorate ions.