Formation of Aluminum Hydroxides by Hydrolysis of Nano and Micro Al Powders

A formation of aluminum hydroxide by hydrolysis of nano and micro aluminum powder has been studied. The nano aluminum powder of 80 to 100 nm in diameter was fabricated by a pulsed wire evaporation (PWE) method. The micro powder was commercial product with more than $10\;{\mu}m$ in diameter. The hydroxide type and morphology depending on size of the aluminum powder were examined by several analyses such as XRD, TEM, and BET. The hydrolysis procedure of micro aluminum powder was different from that of nano aluminum powder. The nano aluminum powder after immersing in the water was transformed rapidly to a nano fibrous boehmite, accompanying with a remarkable temperature increase, and then further transformed slowly to a stable bayerite. However, the micro powder was changed to the stable bayerite slowly and directly. The formation of fibrous aluminum hydroxide from nano aluminum powder might be due to the fine cracks which were formed by hydrogen gas pressure on the surface hydroxide layer during hydrolysis. The nano powder with large specific surface area and small size reacted more actively and faster than the micro powder, and transformed to meta-stable hydroxide in relatively short reaction time. Therefore, the formation of fibrous boehmite is special characteristic of hydrolysis of nano aluminum powder.

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