Synthesis of lithium aluminate for application in radiation dosimetry

Abstract

This study focuses on the synthesis of lithium aluminate material. The obtained γ-LiAlO2 material for application in radiation dosimetry is reported. γ-LiAlO2 powder was prepared by a sol–gel approach and a solid state reaction method for comparison purpose. The lithium aluminate was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that LiAlO2 powder has a crystalline structure in the gamma- phase form depending strongly on calcined temperature. Both methods produced completely pure γ-LiAlO2 with the average density of 2.615 g/cm3 at a relatively low temperature (at 900 °C). The average size of the material prepared by the sol–gel method was found to be smaller than that obtained by the solid state reaction approach. The present study reports the first experiment producing γ-LiAlO2 material.