Synthesis and Characterization of Mesoporous Alumina via a Reverse Precipitation Method

Mesoporous alumina γ-Al2O3 with high specific surface area and large pore volume is prepared by using a facile reverse precipitation method from sodium aluminate and nitric acid. The effects of terminal pH value, aging time and thermal stability on the characterization of γ-Al2O3 are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that γ-Al2O3 with better properties can be obtained by changing the preparation parameters. High BET surface area of 340 m2/g can be obtained by calcining at 500 °C for 4 h with large pore volume of 0.90 cm3/g and average pore size of 7.6 nm. After calcining at 1000°, the surface area is still 86 m2/g and the pore volume is 0.37 cm3/g.