Effect of Precursors on the Preparation and Texture of Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 Powders

We have studied processes underlying the formation of γ-Al2O3 from different precursors (aluminum hydroxide, aluminum isopropoxide, and aluminum nitrate) and synthesized mesoporous γ-Al2O3 powders at temperatures of 500 and 600°C. Texture parameters of the powders (specific surface area, average crystallite size, pore volume, pore shape, and pore size distribution) have been studied using low-temperature nitrogen adsorption measurements and X-ray diffraction, and the effect of the precursors on the texture parameters of γ-Al2O3 has been examined. We have demonstrated the possibility of obtaining γ-Al2O3 with a unimodal pore size distribution (2.5–4.5 and 4.5–8.0 nm, depending on the precursor) and a pore volume of ~0.550 cm3/g. The experimental results obtained here show that the texture characteristics of the synthesized γ-Al2O3 powders as catalyst supports compare well to those of their foreign analogues.