Among advanced ceramics, a significant candidate for high tech functional and structural applications, Zirconia, has been a special interest. An intense interest in zirconia-based ceramics results from a number of key characteristics. They include excellent refractoriness and chemical resistance, good mechanical strength, high fracture toughness and hardness, large ionic conductivity, low thermal conductivity at high temperatures together with relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion, and resistance to thermal shock. The useful properties make them have great potential for structural and functional applications such as advanced structural transformation-toughened ceramics for wear parts, engine and machine components, cutting and abrasive tools, solid electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells and high-temperature water-vapor electrolysis cells, and catalysts for automotive exhaust cleaning [1, 2] The major aim of the present work is to fabricate the zirconia nanoparticles using a solvothermal method. The prepared zirconia nanoparticles was calcined at different temperatures. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope. The influence of calcination temperature on the structural and optical properties of the zirconia nanoparticles was also investigated. References [1] T. Muroi, N. Nojiri, T. Deguchi, Appl. Catal., A, 389, 27 (2010). [2] G.Y. Guo, Y.L. Chen, J. Solid State Chem., 178, 1675 (2005).

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