Zirconium phosphate
Zirconium phosphates (zirconium hydrogen phosphate) are acidic, inorganic cation exchange materials that have a layered structure with formula Zr(HPO4)2∙nH2O. Zirconium phosphates have high thermal and chemical stability, solid state ion conductivity, resistance to ionizing radiation, and the capacity to incorporate different types of molecules with different sizes between their layers. There are various phases of zirconium phosphate which vary in their interlaminar spaces and their crystalline structure. Among all the Zirconium phosphate phases the most widely used are the alpha (Zr(HPO4)2•H2O) and the gamma (Zr(PO4)(H2PO4)•2H2O) phase. Zirconium phosphate have been widely used in several applications such as: drug delivery, catalysis, nanocomposite, nuclear waste management, clinical dialyzer, among others.