Chemical synthesis of magnesium aluminate spinel powders: A comparative study of the sol–gel and self-combustion routes

• Published in: MRS advances 2024-12, Vol.9 (23), p.1810-1815
• Main Authors: Mauro-Nolasco, Angelica, Ortiz-Landeros, José, Téllez-Jurado, Lucía, Paniagua-Mercado, Ana María, Balmori-Ramírez, Heberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied and Technical Physics; Biomaterials; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Engineering; Materials Science; Nanotechnology; Original Paper
• ISSN: 2731-5894; 2059-8521
• DOI: 10.1557/s43580-024-00944-8

Magnesium Aluminate Spinel powders have been synthesized using sol–gel and self-combustion routes. The sol–gel powder was obtained using Mg(NO 3 ) 2  and aluminum tri-secbutoxide as the cation sources dissolved in isopropanol to obtain a gel that was calcined from 400 to 1100 °C to elucidate its thermal evolution. Besides, the self-combustion route was selected as a simple and time-saving method. In the later, a so-called Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) was prepared using Mg(NO 3 ) 2 , Al(NO 3 ) 3 , and urea as the fuel. The DES was introduced in a furnace pre-heated at 400 °C and up to 1100 °C to evaluate the evolution of the spinel phase. Self-combustion powders are closer to stoichiometry and crystallize at a lower temperature (600 °C) than those obtained by the sol–gel route. These changes were attributed to the exothermic nature of the self-combustion reaction. Upon firing at 1100 °C, both methods lead to submicron particles consisting of nanocrystalline grains of less than 40 nm. Graphical abstract Chemical synthesis by self-combustion and sol-gel routes produced highly crystalline magnesium aluminate spinel powders, upon firing at 1100 °C, the two powder particles grow to the submicrometer size range