Comparison of sol-gel and co-precipitation methods on the structural properties and phase transformation of γ and α-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles

Abstract

The nanostructured γ and α alumina powders were synthesized by sol-gel and co-precipitation methods, and properties of the powders were studied by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and FTIR. The results showed that both γ and α phases were formed in the lower temperature in precipitation method compared to sol-gel. The size of spherical α-alumina synthesized by sol-gel was 10–15 nm, whereas the sample prepared by co-precipitation yielded nearly spherical and hexagon α-powder with particle size of 10–50 nm. At 750 °C the resulting powder prepared by co-precipitation exhibited larger surface area (206.2 m²/g) compared to sol-gel (30.72 m²/g), hence it is recommended for catalytic and sensing applications.

Keywords

γ and α-Al₂O₃ / Co-precipitation / sol-gel / Nanoparticles

References

[1] Pathak LC, Singh TB, Das S, Verma AK, Ramachandrarao P. Effect of pH on the combustion synthesis of nano-crystalline alumina powder. Mater Lett, 2002, 57: 380-385.

[2] Wang Z, Liu Y, Zhang Z (2002) Hand book of nanophase and nano structure material. Online access

[3] Kuiry SC, Megen E, Patil SD, Deshpande SA, Seal S. Solution-based chemical synthesis of boehmite nanofibers and alumina nanorods. J Phys Chem B, 2005, 109: 3868-3872.

[4] Niihara K. New design concept of structural ceramics–ceramic nanocomposite. J Ceram Soc Jpn, 1991, 99: 974.

[5] Gates BC. Supported metal clusters: synthesis, structure, and catalysis. Chem Rev, 1995, 95: 511-522.

[6] Schneider JM, Sproul WD, Voevodin AA, Matthews A. Crystalline alumina deposited at low temperatures by ionized magnetron sputtering. J Vac Sci Technol A Vac Surf Films, 1997, 15: 1084-1088.

[7] Krell A, Ma HW. Performance of alumina membranes from new nanosynthesis in ultrafiltration and nanofiltration. J Am Ceram Soc, 2003, 86: 241-246.

[8] Trueba M, Trasatti SP. Gamma-alumina as a support for catalysis: a review of fundamental aspects. Eur J Inorg Cheminform, 2005, 36: 3393-3403.

[9] Gitzen WH. Alumina as a ceramic material, 1970, Columbus: American Ceramic Society

[10] Ezugwu EU, Bonney J, da Silva (2004) Evaluation of the performance of different nano-ceramic tool grades when machining nickel-base, Inconel 718. Alloy J Braz Soc Mech Sci Eng XXVI(1):12–16

[11] Perry RH. Chemical engineers handbook, 1984, 6 New York: McGraw-Hill 23

[12] Tikkanen J, Gross KA, Berndt CC, Pitkanen V, Keskinen J, Raghu S, Rajala M, Karthikeyan J. Characteristics of the liquid flame spray process. Surf Coat Technol, 1997, 90: 210-216.

[13] Souza Santosa P, Souza Santos H, Toledo SP. Standard transition aluminas. Electron Microsc Stud Mater Res, 2000, 3: 104-114.

[14] Bodaghi M, Mirhabibi A, Tahriri MR, Zolfonoon H, Karimi M. Mechanochemical assisted synthesis and powder characteristics of nanostructure ceramic of α-Al₂O₃ at room temperature. Mater Sci Eng, 2006, 162: 155-161.

[15] Johnston G, Munenchausen R, Smith DM, Fahrenholtz W, Foltyn S. Reactive laser ablation synthesis of nanosize alumina powder. J Am Ceram Soc, 1992, 75: 3293-3298.

[16] Tok AI, Boey FYC, Zhao XL. Novel synthesis of Al₂O₃ nano-particles by flame spray pyrolysis. J Mater Process Technol, 2006, 178: 270-273.

[17] Pivkina A, Ivanov D, Frolov Y, Mudretsova S, Nickolskaya A, Schoonman J. Plasma synthesized nano-aluminum powders. J Therm Anal Calorim, 2006, 86: 733.

[18] Nguefack M, Popa AF, Rossignol S, Kappenstein C. Preparation of alumina through a sol-gel process. Synthesis, characterization, thermal evolution and model of intermediate boehmite. Chem Chem Phys, 2003, 5: 4279-4289.

[19] Mishara D, Anand S, Panda RK, Das RK. Hydrothermal preparation and characterization of boehmites. Mater Lett, 2000, 42: 38-45.

[20] Rahmanpour O, Shariati A, Khosravi Nikou MR. New method for synthesis nano size γ-Al2O3 catalyst for dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether. Int J Chem Eng Appl, 2012, 3(2): 125-128.

[21] Zhai X, Fu Y. Combustion synthesis of the nano structured alumina powder. Nanoscience, 2006, 11: 286-292.

[22] Kamata K, Mochizuki T, Matsumoto S, Yamada A, Miyokawa K. Preparation of submicrometer A1₂O₃ powder by gas-phase oxidation of tris (acetylacetonato) aluminum (111). J Am Ceram, 1985, 68: 193-194.

[23] Wang X, Lu G, Guo Y, Wang Y, Guo Y. Preparation of high thermal-stabile alumina by reverse microemulsion method. Mater Chem Phys, 2005, 90: 225-229.

[24] Parida KM, Pradhan AC, Das J, Sahu N. Synthesis and characterization of nano-sized porous gamma-alumina by control precipitation method. Mater Chem Phys, 2009, 113: 244-248.

[25] Potdar HS, Jun KW, Bae JW, Kim SM, Lee YJ. Synthesis of nano-sized porous γ-alumina powder via a precipitation/digestion route. Appl Catal A, 2007, 321: 109-116.

[26] Rogojan R, Andronescu E, Ghitulica C, Stefan B. Synthesis and characterization of alumina nano-powder by sol-gel method. UPB Sci Bull Ser B, 2011, 73(2): 67-76.

[27] Mirjalili F, Mohamad H, Chuah L. Preparation of nano scale α-Al2O3 powder by the sol-gel method. Ceramics – Silikáty, 2011, 55(4): 378-383.

[28] Banerjee S, Sujatha P. Effect of citrate to nitrate ratio on the decomposition characteristics and phase formation of alumina. J Therm Anal Calorim, 2007, 90: 699-706.

[29] Zhan X, Honkanen M, Leva E. Transition alumina nanoparticles and nanorods from boehmite nanoflakes. J Crystal Growth, 2008, 310: 3674-3679.

[30] Gan Z, Ning G, Lin Y, Cong Y. Morphological control of mesoporous alumina nanostructures via template-free solvothermal synthesis. Mater Lett, 2007, 61: 3758-3761.

[31] Kim H, Kim T, Kim J, Park S, Hong S, Lee G. Influences of precursor and additive on the morphology of nanocrystalline α-alumina. J Phys Chem Solids, 2008, 69: 1521-1524.

[32] Ramanathan S, Roy SK, Bhat R, Upadhyaya DD, Biswas AR. Alumina powders from aluminium nitrate-urea and aluminium sulphate-urea reactions: the role of the precursor anion and process conditions on characteristic. Ceram Int, 1997, 23: 45-53.

[33] Li J, Yubai P, Xiang C, Ge Q, Guo J. Low temperature synthesis of ultrafine α-Al2O3 by a simple aqueous sol-gel process. Ceram Int, 2006, 32: 578-591.

[34] Macedo M, Osawa C, Bertran A. sol-gel synthesis of transparent alumina gel and pure gamma alumina by urea hydrolysis of aluminum nitrate. J Sol Gel Sci Technol, 2004, 30: 135-140.