Preparation of alumina-iron oxide compounds by gel evaporation method and its simultaneous uptake properties for Ni2+, NH4+ and H2PO4-.

Fe(2)O(3)/Al(2)O(3) powders with a range of Fe/Al compositions were prepared by a gel evaporation method to investigate the effect of alumina on the product phases, magnetic properties and simultaneous adsorption of Ni(2+) (a model heavy metal cation), NH(4)(+) (a model eutrophication-related cation) and H(2)PO(4)(-) (a model harmful anion). Precursor gels were prepared by dissolving Fe(NO(3))(3).9H(2)O and Al(NO(3))(3).9H(2)O in ethylene glycol, evaporating to dryness, grinding and heating at 300-1000 degrees C for 5h. The crystalline products were gamma-Fe(2)O(3) (maghemite), formed at 300-600 degrees C, or alpha-Fe(2)O(3) (hematite) and AlFeO(3), formed >600 degrees C. The temperatures of the phase change from gamma-Fe(2)O(3) to alpha-Fe(2)O(3) increased with increasing alumina additions. The resulting lattice parameters suggest that Al(3+) is incorporated into these phases up to about 15 mol.% at 300 degrees C, falling to 11 mol.% in the gamma-Fe(2)O(3) formed at 600 degrees C. The alpha-Fe(2)O(3) formed at 700 degrees C contained 6 mol.% Al, increasing to 14 mol.% at 1000 degrees C. The magnetic properties of the samples were measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The saturation magnetization values of the gamma-Fe(2)O(3)-containing samples increased with the addition of alumina to a maximum value of 61emu/g in the sample containing 95 mol.% Fe(2)O(3) heated at 400 degrees C. The simultaneous adsorption of Ni(2+), NH(4)(+) and H(2)PO(4)(-) from water was investigated by a batch method. The highest adsorption values were found for the sample containing 80 mol.% Fe(2)O(3) heated at 600 degrees C, which contained both gamma-Fe(2)O(3) and alpha-Fe(2)O(3). It was therefore concluded that the addition of alumina to iron oxide affects the crystalline phases and phase changes, and enhances the simultaneous cation and anion uptake ability of the materials.

Effect of crystallite size on the thermal phase change and porous properties of boehmite.

The effect of crystallite size on the thermal phase change and porous properties of boehmite was investigated using boehmites with crystallite sizes of 2.9 to 24.4 nm and boehmite gels prepared by precipitation and hydrothermal methods. The dehydroxylation temperature of boehmite increases, its phase transition temperature from gamma- to theta-Al(2)O(3) decreases and the theta- to alpha-Al(2)O(3) transition temperature increases as the crystallite size of the boehmite increases. Boehmite with a crystallite size of approximately 5 nm shows the highest specific surface area and greatest thermal stability. This boehmite contains pores of about 2-3 nm radius, suggested to be responsible for the superior porous properties and thermal stability.