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

Mesoporous nano rod-like gamma-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 degrees C for 6 h transformed the resin-boehmite to mesoporous single phase gamma-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 N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. These mesoporous aluminas have large surface area (ca. 382 m(2)/g), 0.4 cm(3)/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. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.