Examination of spinel and nonspinel structural models for gamma-Al2O3 by DFT and rietveld refinement simulations.
Despite the widespread use of gamma-Al2O3, there is still considerable disagreement over the nature of its structure due to both its poor crystallinity and differing preparation techniques during experimentation. Using density-functional theory (DFT) calculations and Rietveld simulations and refinement, the structure of three spinel-related models and a recently proposed nonspinel model were studied in reference to synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXPD) patterns. The spinel-based structural models represent the structural features of gamma-Al2O3 better than the nonspinel model. The major failure of the nonspinel model is that the model cannot reproduce the SXPD reflection originating from tetrahedral aluminum. The Rietveld-refined spinel model can accurately reproduce the lattice parameters and other structural features of gamma-Al2O3, and it can generate a consistent diffraction peak at 2theta which lies between the splitting peaks of the experimental pattern that are originated from the disordered tetrahedral aluminum cations.
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G6.
Mingyong
M
Sun
Alan E
AE
Nelson
John
J
Adjaye