PREPARATION OF TEXTURED ALUMINA FILMS BY THE SOL-GEL ROUTE

Alumina films were fabricated by the sol-gel route under various preparation conditions. The peptization rate and the structure of colloidal particles depend on these conditions. In particular, the peptization of a dried boehmite precipitate prepared from aluminum alkoxide was achieved within a few seconds without heating. The resulting sol is made of highly dispersed crystallites; this allows the formation of well-textured xerogel films as evidenced by the Weissenberg x-ray method.