Economical synthesis of Al2O3 nanopowder using a precipitation method

Al2O3 nanopowder was synthesized by the precipitation method using inexpensive AlCl3-6H(2)O and Al powder as raw materials. The dried precipitate was heat treated in the range of 60-1200 degrees C. The influence of heat treatment on crystallization and phase transformation of the precipitate was investigated using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that the particle size of the powders lies between 30 and 95 nm. (C) 2009 Elsevier BY. All rights reserved.