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
Zirconia Toughened Alumina lower cost. Depending on the percentage that is Zirconium, the properties of this ceramic can be manipulated for the applications required. Zirconia Toughened Alumina is generally referred as the intermediary between Alumina and Zirconium and as priced as such. This gives the ZTA a much lower price range than other similar materials. The increase in composite strength is done by a process called Stress Induced Transformation Toughening. This process causes internal strains, which causes crack in the structure of the Zirconium. Because of the crack, the Zirconium particles allowed to switch phases and move more freely amongst the Alumina particles.