A facile and controllable synthesis of γ-Al2O3 nanostructures without a surfactant

Boehinite [AlOOH] nanoneedles, nanorods, and nanotubes were successfully synthesized by a facile sol-hydrothermal method without using any surfactant. Calcination of the corresponding boehmite nanostructures at 700 degrees C gave the corresponding gamma-Al2O3 nanoneedles, nanorods, and nanotubes. The resulting products were characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, and FT-IR spectroscopy. We found that the conditions used to produce the sol and the pH value of the hydrothermal process have important effects on the nucleation and growth of nanostructured materials. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005).