Mesoporous nano rod-like γ-alumina synthesis using phenol–formaldehyde resin as a template

•We produce mesoporous nano rod-like γ-alumina.•We use from phenol formaldehyde polymeric resin as a template.•Phenol/formaldehyde resin decorates the surface of the alumina particles.•These mesoporous aluminas have large surface area.•Calcination of the resulting composites at 600 °C for 6 h transformed the resin-boehmite to mesoporous γ-alumina.

Mesoporous nano rod-like γ-alumina with narrow pore size distribution has been successfully prepared using phenol formaldehyde polymeric resin as a template and aluminum isopropoxide as a cheap precursor. Calcination of the resulting composites at 350 and 600 °C for 6 h transformed the resin-boehmite to mesoporous single phase γ-alumina. The influence of phenol formaldehyde resin on the structure, texture and morphology of alumina was investigated by mean of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm. These mesoporous aluminas have large surface area (ca. 382 m2/g), 0.4 cm3/g pore volume, and narrow pore size distributions. The average pore size was achieved over the range of 3.5–5.9 nm depending on the ratio of alumina to resin.

Graphical abstractMesoporous nano rod γ-alumina with narrow pore size distribution has been successfully prepared using phenol formaldehyde polymeric resin as a template and aluminum isopropoxide as a cheap precursor.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide