Zirconium nitrate of chemical suppliers. It is used as a source of zirconium for other salts, as an analytical standard, or as a preservative. Zirconium nitrate and nitronium pentanitratozirconate can be used as chemical vapour deposition precursors as they are volatile, and decompose above 100 °C to form zirconia. At 95°C zirconium nitrate sublimes with a pressure of 0.2 mm of Hg and can be deposited as zirconium dioxide on silicon at 285°C. It has the advantage in that it is a single source, meaning it does not have to be mixed with other materials like oxygen, and decomposes at a relatively
Zirconium perchlorate 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. This side product can be minimised by adding more dichlorine heptoxide or doing the reaction