2017 Volume 125 Issue 3 Pages 100-104
Magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4) nanopowders were synthesized via nonhydrolytic sol–gel route using anhydrous ethanol, aluminium chloride and magnesium chloride as raw materials. The samples were characterized using differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmet–Teller analysis, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the powders with a single MgAl2O4 spinel phase were obtained after annealing the gel precursor at 900°C, and their average particle size and BET specific surface area were about 30 nm and 43.57 m2/g. In addition, the synthesized MgAl2O4 spinel nanopowders possessed mesoporous structure with the pore diameter between 3–50 nm. The MgAl2O4 spinel nanopowders also exhibited superior sintering properties.