On the Decomposition of Synthetic Gibbsite Studied by Neutron Thermodiffractometry

Abstract

The thermal decomposition mechanism of synthetic Al(OH)3 (gibbsite) was studied in situ by neutron thermodiffractometry in an ambient atmosphere from room temperature to 600°C with 50°C steps. Gibbsite decomposed to yield AlO·(OH) (boehmite) and then poorly crystallized χ‐Al2O3. Rietveld analysis was used to refine the cell parameters' variation of gibbsite and its thermal expansion coefficients were obtained: for the a‐axis: 15±1 × 10−6 K−1, for b: 10±2 × 10−6 K−1, and for c: 17±2 × 10−6 K−1.