- Thermal decomposition of Zr(C2O4)2·4H2O within an autoclave or in a conventional tube furnace at temperatures below 380 °C resulted in nano- and micron-sized ZrO2, respectively. Reactions under autogenic pressure yielded monodisperse monoclinic (m) and tetragonal (t) ZrO2 nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~8 nm and interconnected t-ZrO2 nanoparticles with diameters of ~4 nm, depending on the synthesis temperature. Samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) associated with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman microspectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Nanostructured zirconia materials exhibited high specific areas of 276–385 m2 g-1 which make them promising candidates as catalysts and catalyst supports. Co-existence of m- and t-ZrO2 nanoparticles with diameters of 6–9 nm, i.e. above the critical particle size of 6 nm for theThermal decomposition of Zr(C2O4)2·4H2O within an autoclave or in a conventional tube furnace at temperatures below 380 °C resulted in nano- and micron-sized ZrO2, respectively. Reactions under autogenic pressure yielded monodisperse monoclinic (m) and tetragonal (t) ZrO2 nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~8 nm and interconnected t-ZrO2 nanoparticles with diameters of ~4 nm, depending on the synthesis temperature. Samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) associated with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman microspectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Nanostructured zirconia materials exhibited high specific areas of 276–385 m2 g-1 which make them promising candidates as catalysts and catalyst supports. Co-existence of m- and t-ZrO2 nanoparticles with diameters of 6–9 nm, i.e. above the critical particle size of 6 nm for the formation of t-ZrO2, demonstrated that the particle size is not the only factor for stabilisation of the t-ZrO2 modification at room temperature.…