Hydrothermal synthesis of LiAlO2 nanostructures with high specific surface area by using anodized aluminum oxide template

Mesoporous materials are eliciting considerable research interest for their application in catalysts and electrodes. In this paper, we report the synthesis of mesoporous α-LiAlO2 via a hydrothermal route using through-hole anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) as templates. Crystal structures and morphologies were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). α-LiAlO2 reproduced the one-dimensional structures of AAO templates and obtained two kinds of nanostructures, namely, nanoparticles and nanoflakes. Extremely high specific surface area of up to 117.3 m2/g and large pore volume of 0.87 cm3/g were confirmed by nitrogen-sorption measurement, which shed light on the potential practical application of mesoporous α-LiAlO2.