Mater. Lett. 2003, 57, 3593-3597

 

Preparation and characterization of macroporous gamma-LiAlO₂

 

Sergey Sokolov, Andreas Stein*

 

Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

 

Abstract

 

Lithium aluminate powders with three-dimensional, periodic arrays of interconnected macropores (275–325 nm in diameter) were synthesized by poly(methyl methacrylate) latex colloidal crystal templating via wet-chemical process. Calcination removed the polymer template and converted the inorganic precursors into a high surface area (up to 56 m2/g), macroporous skeleton of gamma-LiAlO₂. Under certain synthesis conditions, lithium-poor LiAl₅O₈ nanocrystals were also present. Optimized synthesis conditions and structural characterisics of the materials are presented.