Facile solvent-deficient synthesis of mesoporous γ-alumina with controlled pore structures

We report a simple, one-pot, solvent-deficient process using different aluminum salts to synthesize mesoporous gamma-alumina without external templates or surfactants. Samples prepared from aluminum inorganic salts have a close-packed morphology, where randomly stacked fibrous crystallites of gamma-alumina are obtained when utilizing aluminum alkoxides. After calcination at 700 degrees C for 2 h, surface areas of these nanostructured gamma-aluminas range from 210 to 320 m(2)/g. The average pore diameters range from 6 to 18 nm, the crystallite diameters range from 3 to 4 nm, and pore volumes range from 0.4 to 1.7 cm(3)/g. This synthetic method provides a facile route to synthesize stable, high surface-area mesoporous aluminas having a wide range of pore sizes and volumes. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.