Simultaneous DTA and DTG curves (Mettler TA-2) have been measured for one diaspore and four different boehmites at temperatures up to 750 co in a flow of dried argon. The crystallographic structures of the materials were assessed by X-ray diffraction and the degree of clustering of the elementary particles by scanning electron microscopy. To get straight base-lines a calibration curve was used to correct the DTA curves. The usefulness of the correction was established by comparison with DTA curves obtained with a Mettler TA-2000.The diaspore contained occluded water, Expulsion of the water at 300--350 ~ brought about fragmentation of the crystals. The DTA and DTG peaks that correspond to the dehydration to alumina both lie at 560 ~ .There is a noticeable spread in the DTA and DTG peaks for the different boehmites in the temperature range 455--530 ~ All the DTA peaks lie close to the corresponding DTG peaks. One of the boehmites displayed a double peak (470 ~ and 502~ To trace the origin of the variation in peak temperature, the porous structure of the boehmite having its peak at 530 ~ was varied by ball-milling and by dispersion into water, neither of which markedly affected the crystallographic structure and the crystallite size. Whereas ball-milling did not change the peak temperature much, dispersion into water brought about a transition from a single peak at 530 ~ to a double peak at 450 ~ and 490 ~ Prolonged storage in air led to a shift of the peaks to 480 ~ and 520 ~ It is concluded that the porous structure of boehmites can profoundly affect the appearance and the temperature of their dehydration peaks.
10'3. Thermal Anal 13, 1978