Zirconium dioxide of Mars to provide both fuel and oxidizer that could be used as a store of chemical energy for use with surface transportation on Mars. Carbon monoxide/oxygen engines have been suggested for early surface transportation use as both carbon monoxide and oxygen can be straightforwardly produced by zirconia electrolysis without requiring use of any of the Martian water resources to obtain hydrogen, which would be needed for the production of methane or any hydrogen-based fuels. Zirconia is also a potential high-k dielectric material with potential applications as an insulator in transistors. Zirconia is also employed in the deposition of optical
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.