Triton X-100 directed synthesis of mesoporous γ-Al2O3 from coal-series kaolin

• Leachate of coal-series kaolin was used as Al source.
• Triton X-100(TX-100) was used as template.
• Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 has been synthesized.
• The amount of TX-100 influences the structure and porosity of samples significantly.

Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 has been successfully synthesized by using calcined coal-series kaolin as raw material and Triton X-100 (TX-100) as template. The effect of TX-100/Al3 + ratio on the structural and textural properties of mesoporous γ-Al2O3 was investigated. Physical properties of obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicated that the amount of TX-100 influenced the structure and porous properties of mesoporous γ-Al2O3 significantly. When TX-100/Al3 + ratio was in the range of 0.03–0.15, all samples had mesoporous structures with BET surface area of 193.0–261.0 m2/g and pore size of 5.04–6.71 nm. In addition, the reaction mechanism involved in the process was proposed and discussed.

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