title: Surface and porosity of nanocrystalline boehmite xerogels.
abstract: Boehmite xerogels are prepared by hydrolysis of Al(OC4H9)3 followed by peptization with HNO3 (H+/Al = 0, 0.07, 0.2). XRD and TEM show that these gels are made of nanosized crystals (5-9 nm in width and 3 nm thick). According to the amount of acid, no significant differences are found in size and shape, but only in the spatial arrangement of the crystallites. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms of nonpeptized gels are of type IV, whereas isotherms of peptized gels are of type I. These isotherms are analyzed by the t-plot method. The majority of pore volume results from intercrystalline mesopores, but the peptized gels also contain intercrystalline micropores. The particle packing is very dense for the gel peptized with H+/Al = 0.2 (porosity = 0.26), but it is less dense in non-peptized gel (porosity = 0.44). Heating these gels under vacuum creates, from 250 degrees C onwards, an intracrystalline microporosity resulting from the conversion of boehmite into transition alumina. But heating also causes intercrystalline micropores collapsing. The specific surface area increases up to a limit temperature (300 degrees C for nonpeptized gels and 400 degrees C for peptized) beyond which sintering of the particles begins and the surface decreases. The PSD are calculated assuming a cylindrical pore geometry and using the corrected Kelvin equation proposed by Kruk et al. Peptized xerogels give a monomodal distribution with a maximum near 2 nm and no pores are larger than 6 nm. Nonpeptized gels have a bimodal distribution with a narrow peak near to 2 nm and a broad unsymmetrical peak with a maximum at 4 nm. Heating in air above 400 degrees C has a strong effect on the porosity. As the temperature increases, there is a broadening of the distribution and a marked decrease of small pores (below 3 nm). However, even after treatment at 800 degrees C, micropores are still present.
authors.affiliation: CIRIMAT, UMR-CNRS 5085, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 04, France. alphonse@chimie.ups-tlse.fr
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alphonse
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Courty
mesh_terms: D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D005782:Gels; D006868:Hydrolysis; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D017942:Nitric Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D017942:Nitric Acid; D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide; C069471:aluminum oxide hydroxide; D000537:Aluminum Oxide