Influences of processing techniques of the H2O2-precipitated pseudoboehmite on the structural and textural properties of γ-Al2O3

Influences of three post-precipitation techniques, n-butanol azeotropic distillation, ethanol washing and water washing of the H2O2-precipitated pseudoboehmite (PB) from sodium aluminate (SA) solutions on the structural and textural properties of gamma-Al2O3 upon calcination were comparatively studied. The first two processing techniques not only yield folded and swollen sheet-like pseudoboehmite and gamma-Al2O3 nanofibres, but also increase their macro-mesopore volume and specific surface area significantly. The mechanisms for the formation of nanofibres and macro-mesopore volume induced by butoxy group or ethoxy group were also proposed. In contrast, n-butanol azeotropic distillation is more competitive for widening pores and preventing them from collapsing due to its larger n-butanol molecules, longer butoxy groups and the more complete replacement of residual water in the precipitate. The gamma-Al2O3 from azeotropic distillation exhibits more excellent macro-mesostructure with high surface area (about 4.21 cm(3)/g and 396.3 m(2)/g) than those of the gamma-Al2O3 from ethanol washing (about 2.23 cm(3)/g and 222.0 m(2)/g). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.