Novel facile nonhydrolytic sol-gel synthesis of MgAl2O4 nanocrystal from bimetallic alkoxides

In this paper, fine, homogeneous, and high purity MgAl2O4 nanopowder was synthesized by a novel facile non-hydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) route. The spinel powders were characterized by various techniques, such as DTA-TG, XRD, SEM, and TEM. It is found that the formation of pure single-phase spinel MgAl2O4 powder begins at 500 degrees C due to the obtaining of Mg-O-Al bonds in the gel. No impurity appears at the whole temperature range (from 450 to 750 degrees C), which is ascribed to the exact stoichiometry of magnesium and aluminium in the bimetallic alkoxides Mg(Al(OEt)(3))(2) to form MgAl2O4. The average particle size of MgAl2O4 synthesized at 700 degrees C is about 6.96 nm with high dispersion and crystallinity. NHSG synthesis method from bimetallic alkoxides is expected to be a promising preparation method for the synthesis of compound oxides. [GRAPHICS] .