An investigation of the transformation of Al-based metal-organic frameworks to mesoporous Al2O3 with core-shell and nanoporous structure

Hexagonal spindle-shaped mesoporous alumina with different internal structures were prepared using Al-based metal-organic frameworks MIL-96 as precursor through thermal treatment method. MIL-96 and alumina products were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and TG. Results from these characterizations showed that alumina products keep the morphology of their precursor, and the thermal treatment conditions have large effect on alumina microstructures. The state of atmosphere and heating rate are the main factors affecting the internal textural properties of alumina. A possible transformation mechanism was also proposed. In addition, the effect of textural properties and structure on the adsorption ability of alumina was investigated. This work presents a novel method, which builds a direct linkage between MOB crystals and metal oxide microstructures, to control the morphology, structure and performance of alumina and other metal oxide materials. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved