Abstract
The thermal stability of unsupported alumina membrane top-layers was studied by determining the pore structure (mainly pore size) change of alumina gels, prepared by sol-gel methods, after sintering at different temperatures ranging from 450 to 1200 °C. The average pore size of the pure alumina membranes and PVA-added membranes increased sharply after sintering at temperatures higher than 1000 °C. Addition of 3% lanthanum, either by mixing lanthanum nitrate in the alumina sol or impregnating lanthanum nitrate into calcined alumina gel, followed by a second heat treatment, can considerably stabilize the pore structure of the alumina membrane top-layers. The pore diameter for the lanthanum-doped membranes was stabilized within 25 nm after sintering at 1200 °C for 30 h, about one-sixth of that for the pure alumina membranes after sintering at 1200 °C for 30 h. The substantial increase in the pore size for the pure alumina membranes at the sintering temperature of 1000 to 1200 °C was accompanied by the phase transformation from γ-to α-alumina. The addition of lanthanum can raise this phase transformation temperature by about 200 °C.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 715-720 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Science |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1991 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering