Synthesis and textural evolution of alumina particles with mesoporous structures

Alumina particles with mesostructures were synthesized through a chemical precipitation method by using different inorganic aluminum salts followed by a heterogeneous azeotropic distillation and calcination process. The obtained mesoporous γ-alumina particles were systematically characterized by the X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurement. Effects of the aluminum salt counter anion, pH value and the azeotropic distillation process on the structural or textural evolution of alumina particles were investigated. It is found that Cl− in the reaction solution can restrain the textural evolution of the resultant precipitates into two-dimensional crystallized pseudoboehmite lamellae during the heterogeneous azeotropic distillation, and then transformed into γ-Al2O3 particles with mesostructures after further calcination at 1173 K, whereas coexisting SO42− can promote above morphology evolution and then transformed into γ-Al2O3 nanofibers after calcination at 1173 K. Moreover nearly all materials retain relatively high specific surface areas larger than 100 m2 g−1 even after calcinations at 1173 K.