Preparation of nanosized nickel aluminate spinel by a sonochemical method

Nanosized nickel aluminate spinel particles have been synthesized with the aid of ultrasound radiation by a precursor approach. Sonicating an aqueous solution of nickel nitrate, aluminium nitrate and urea yields a precursor which on heating at 950 °C for 14 h yields nanosized NiAl2O4 particles with a size of ca. 13 nm and with a surface area of about 108 m2 g−1. The nanosized nickel aluminate particles as well as the precursor have been characterized by elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis, DSC, FT-IR, Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and BET surface area measurements.