Influence of Fuel in the Synthesis of ZnAl<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Catalytic Supports by Combustion Reaction

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of fuel in the synthesis of ZnAl2O4 catalytic supports by combustion reaction. For this, it was used the fuels: urea, carbohidrazide, glycine and aniline. The total amount of reagents was calculated according to the theory of propellants and explosive using urea in the stoichiometric proportion (Φe = 1). The structural and morphological characteristics of the powders were evaluated by XRD, FTIR, TEM, SEM and particle size distribution. The results from XRD showed the formation of the normal cubic spinel structure. The powders presented nanosized particles with narrow agglomerates size distribution. The powders prepared with urea showed better value of surface area and smaller crystallite size.