Synthesis and Characterisation of γ-Al2O3 with Porous Structure and Nanorod Morphology

Abstract

Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 nanorods can be successfully synthesised using calcination of as-synthesised boehmite at 500 °C. The use of NaOH and KOH as pH adjusting agents in hydrothermal route on the synthesised samples are investigated in detail. X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, N2 adsorption/desorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to characterise the products. The TEM and FESEM micrographs show that the products were nanorod. According to our experimental results, the as-prepared γ-AlOOH and γ-Al2O3 possesses ordered mesoporosity and narrow pore-size distribution. The γ-Al2O3 prepared using KOH as pH adjusting regent show higher surface area compared with other samples prepared by NaOH.