Preparation, Characterization and application of Alumina Powder Produced by advanced Preparation Techniques

Aluminum oxide powders were prepared by advanced chemical techniques. The morphology of the produced powders were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surface characteristics of the powders were measured through nitrogen gas adsorption and application of the BET equation at 77 K, through the use of nitrogen gas adsorption at liquid nitrogen temperature and application of the Brunauer-Emett-Teller (BET) equation. The total surface area, total pore volume and pore radius of the powders were calculated through the construction of the plots relating the amount of nitrogen gas adsorbed V1 and the thickness of the adsorbed layer t(V1-t plots). The thermal behaviour of the powders were studied with the help of differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetry (TG). Due to the presence of some changes in the DTA base lines, possibly as a result of phase transformations, X-ray diffraction was applied to identify these phases. The sintering behaviour of the compact powders after isostatic pressing was evaluated using dilatometry. The sintering temperature of the studied samples were also determined using heating microscopy. The effect of changing sintering temperature and of applying different isostatic pressures on the density and porosity of the compacts was investigated