Hierarchical nanoarchitectonics of boehmite: The preparation of three-dimensional flower-like via hydrothermal method without surfactants

The materials with hierarchical nanoarchitectonics have attracted considerable attention owing to their promising performance including large surface area and high accessibility. Herein, three-dimensional (3D) flower-like boehmite (γ-AlOOH) consisting of nanosheet and nanorod-like subunits is successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method using sodium aluminate and urea as raw materials without surfactants. The synthesized 3D flower-like γ-AlOOH with a unique pore distribution exhibited a high BET surface area of 117 m2/g. To reveal the changes of composition and morphology during the synthesis of 3D flower-like γ-AlOOH, a systematic time-dependent investigation was carried out. The formation mechanism of 3D flower-like γ-AlOOH had also been proposed. The 3D flower-like γ-Al2O3 with a BET surface area of 145 m2/g was obtained by calcining the γ-AlOOH at 500 °C for 3 h, which preserved the size and morphology of the precursor.