The Role of the Aluminum Source on the Physicochemical Properties of γ-AlOOH Nanoparticles

Abstract

The effect on the physicochemical properties of aluminum salts on the synthesis of γ-AlOOH nanostructures has been investigated in detail using a hydrolysis-precipitation method. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), were used to characterize the synthesized samples. The specific surface area, pore size distribution and pore diameter of the different γ-AlOOH structures were discussed by the N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. According to the results of the nanostructure, characterization revealed that for synthesized γ-AlOOH nanostructures from AlCl3 and Al(NO3)3, obvious XRD peaks corresponding to the bayerite phase are found indicating an impure γ-AlOOH phase. Furthermore, the nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis indicated that the obtained γ-AlOOH nanoparticles from Al2(SO4)3 of technical grade (95.0 % of purity) and low cost, possess a high BET surface area of approximately 350 m2/g, compared to the obtained nanostructures from aluminum sources reactive grade, which was attributed to the presence of Mg (0.9 wt.%) in its nanostructure.