A novel chemical route for the synthesis of nanocrystalline alpha-Al2O3 powder

Nanocrystalline alpha-Al2O3 powders have been synthesized by pyrolysis of a precursor material prepared by evaporation of an aqueous solution of sucro se with polyvinyl alcohol and stoichiometric amount of the desired metal ni trate. The single-phase alpha-Al2O3 powder was obtained after heat treatmen t at 1150 degrees C for 2 h. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), infrared spectrosc opy, differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), and tran smission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the precursors and the heat-treated final powders. The average particle size as measured from X-ray line broadening and TEM studies was around similar to 25 nm. The particles have sizes of the same order to that of crystallite which indica tes poor agglomeration of crystallites. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.