Preparation of α-Al2O3 Powders via Non-Hydrolytic Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

Corundum structurealumina (α-Al2O3) powders were prepared via a non-hydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) method using aluminum as raw material, ethanol as solvent, and iodine as catalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermo gravimetric analysis (TG) were used to characterize the crystal phase of the products, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to analyze the morphology. The results indicated that γ-Al2O3 was completely changed to α-Al2O3 at 1100 o C with a bit of aggregation. When 3 wt.% polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG 600) was introduced on the NHSG process, the dispersion was improved and the particle size decreased to100 nm.