A novel and effective method is proposed
to prepare uniform γ-alumina
microspheres with large pore volumes using a coaxial microchannel.
In this process, the so-called “temperature/pH-induced gelation”
method, in which methylcellulose (MC) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA)
are added to accelerate gelation of Al(OH)3 sol, is combined
with microfluidics technology to ensure sphericity and dimensional
homogeneity of the prepared microspheres. The influences of the sol
concentration, the properties of pseudoboehmite (PB) used to obtain
the sol, and the two-phase flow rates were investigated. By controlling
the sol concentration at 10 wt % and the continuous to dispersed phase
flow ratio at 14–50, 750–380-μm-diameter γ-alumina
microspheres with uniform pore structures were synthesized using an
Al(OH)3 sol obtained from PB3. The pore volume was 1.20
mL/g, and the crushing strengths were 8.19–16.67 N/mm2. Prepared at the maximum two-phase flow ratio, sample S9 exhibited
the most uniform particle size of about 380 μm.
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