Preparation of High-Purity Ultrafine α-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> by Solid-State Reaction at Room Temperature

Abstract

Ammonium aluminium carbonate hydroxide (AACH), with a small quantity of γ-AlOOH, was synthesized through solid-state reaction at room temperature using AlCl3·6H2O and NH4HCO3 as raw materials and polyethylene glycol (PEG-10000) as the dispersant. After calcined at 1100°C for 1.5h, α-Al2O3 powders with primary particle sizes of 20~30nm were obtained. The crystal phase, particle size and morphology of the high-purity ultrafine α-Al2O3 were characterized. The results showed that a small quantity of γ-AlOOH in the AACH decomposed and formed crystal seeds. The presence of crystal seeds reduced the nucleation activation energy and therefore reduced the phase transformation temperature.