Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline zinc aluminate spinel by sol–gel technique using modified alkoxide precursor

Abstract

Nanosized zinc aluminate spinel (gahnite, ZnAl2O4) powders were prepared by sol−gel technique at low sintering temperatures. Aluminium-sec-butoxide [Al(OsBu)3] and zinc nitrate hexahydrate Zn(NO3)2 . 6H2O were used as starting materials. Gels with and without chelating agent were prepared. Ethyl-acetoacetate (C6H10O3) was used as a chelating agent in order to control the rate of hydrolysis of Al(OsBu)3. The dried gels and thermally treated samples were characterized by means of Differential Thermal Analysis and Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (DTA, TGA), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The surface area was measured by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) adsorption–desorption isotherms. It has been established that chelation enables to obtain a transparent gel. The thermal evolution of gels was characterized by two crystallization processes in the range 200–400 °C and 600–700 °C. Both processes yielded pure ZnAl2O4 as evidenced by XRD, i.e. zinc aluminate spinel powders were produced by gel heat-treatment at temperatures as low as 300 °C. The average gahnite crystallite size for the samples sintered in the temperature range of 400–1000 °C has been calculated from the broadening of XRD lines revealing that nanocrystalline powders were prepared. The surface areas measured for the samples fired at 700 °C for 2 h were 43.1 and 62.6 m2 g−1, for sample without and with the chelating agent, respectively. TEM micrographs confirmed the nano-scale size of particles.