Synthesis of calcium aluminate powders by ethanol thermal decomposition method

Abstract

The aim of this work was the synthesis of calcium aluminate powders at a relatively low temperature via the ethanol thermal decomposition method. The effect of the cation concentration in the ethanol solution and CaO contents incorporated in calcium aluminate materials on the structure of the prepared calcium aluminate powders in terms of phase composition, particle size distribution and specific surface area were investigated. It was demonstrated that the prepared powders containing 40 wt.% of CaO were mainly composed of CaAl2O4 and CaAl4O7 phases, while Ca3Al2O6 and Ca12Al14O33 became the major phases accompanied with free CaO mesophase when the CaO content increased to 60wt.%. A decrease in the particle size was observed for both types of calcium aluminate powders with the decrease of the cation concentration and CaO contents, while the specific surface area increased. The research results provide an optional process for the preparation of calcium aluminate materials, playing an important role in simplifying the production process and shortening the production time.