Soft Solution Processing for the Synthesis of Alumina Nanoparticles in the Presence of Glucose

Alumina nanoparticles were synthesized following hydrothermal process at 170°C for 6 h, using glucose and other water‐based precursor materials. The uncalcined and calcined (550°–1200°C) particles were characterized by differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and multipoint Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area. The microstructures of the calcined (at 550°C) particles were examined by field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and FTIR studies revealed that gamma‐alumina (γ‐Al 2 O 3 ) persisted up to 1000°C followed by the appearance of alpha‐alumina (α‐Al 2 O 3 ) at 1200°C. BET surface area analysis confirmed that the specific surface area of γ‐Al 2 O 3 was higher compared with α‐Al 2 O 3 . Because of particle agglomeration, the crystallite sizes obtained by the BET method showed larger values than those determined by the XRD method for the samples calcined at 550°–1200°C. For 550°C‐treated sample, FESEM micrograph showed the aggregated particles of size 20–80 nm, while TEM image of the same sample revealed a particle size of 5–10 nm.