A new chemical route for the synthesis of nano-crystalline α-Al2O3 powder

Nano crystalline α-Al2O3 powders have been prepared by pyrolysis of a complex compound of aluminium with triethanolamine (TEA) and sucrose. The soluble metal ion-TEA complex with sucrose forms the precursor material on complete dehydration. The single-phase α-Al2O3 powder has resulted after heat treatment at 1150°C. The precursors and the heat treated final powders have been characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis TG/DTA, Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average particle sizes as measured from X-ray line broadening and transmission electron microscopy studies are around ∼20 nm. The powder which has crystallite sizes of the same order with the particle size indicates the low agglomeration of crystallites.