Studies on Thermal Decomposition of Aluminium Sulfate to Produce Alumina Nano Structure

Aluminum sulfate nano structures have been prepared by solution combustion synthesis using aluminum nitrate nonahydrate (Al(NO3)3.9H2O) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4). The resultant aluminum sulfate nano structures were calcined at different temperatures to study thermal decomposition of aluminum sulfate. The crystallinity and phase of the as-synthesized and calcined samples were characterized by both X- ray diffraction and FTIR measurements. These two analyses determined the temperature at which the aluminum sulfate is converted to γ-alumina nano particles. The specific surface area and pore size distribution for γ-alumina nano particles were determined by BET measurement. TEM measurement confirmed the size of the particles obtained by XRD and BET analyses.