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Synthesis and characterisation of a porous Al scaffold sintered from NaAlH4

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Abstract

A simple and cost-effective method for the synthesis of a porous Al scaffold has been optimised using only NaAlH4 and TiCl3. The starting materials were compacted into a pellet and sintered under dynamic vacuum to remove the Na and H2. The sintering conditions, such as vacuum level, temperature, and time, were the key factors that influenced both the extraction of Na and H2 from the pellet and the overall porosity. Quantitative phase analysis by X-ray diffraction revealed that after the sintering process, the as-prepared porous Al scaffold consisted primarily of Al. Morphological observations conducted by scanning electron microscopy showed that the scaffold exhibited an open network of pores with a small number of mesopores and no formation of micropores. The specific surface area of the scaffold was determined to be 7.9 ± 0.1 and 6.0 ± 0.5 m2/g by the Brunauer–Emmet–Teller method and from small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, respectively. The total porosity of the Al scaffold was 44.6%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors CEB, DAS, and MVS acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council for ARC Discovery Grant DP150101708. The author DAS acknowledges the financial support of a Curtin University’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. The author EI acknowledges Curtin University for a Curtin University Postgraduate Scholarship. The authors acknowledge the facilities and technical assistance of the Microscopy & Microanalysis Facility of the John de Laeter Centre at Curtin University. CEB acknowledges the financial support of the Australian Research Council for ARC LIEF Grants LE0775551 and LE0989180 which enabled the XRD to be undertaken. This research was partially undertaken on the SAXS/WAXS beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, Victoria, Australia. The authors would like to thank Dr. Nigel Kirby, principal beamline scientist, for his assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hydrogen Storage Research Group, Fuels and Energy Technology Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Enrico Ianni, M. Veronica Sofianos, Drew A. Sheppard, Matthew R. Rowles, Terry D. Humphries & Craig E. Buckley

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Shaomin Liu

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  1. Enrico Ianni
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  2. M. Veronica Sofianos
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  3. Drew A. Sheppard
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Correspondence to M. Veronica Sofianos or Matthew R. Rowles.

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Ianni, E., Sofianos, M.V., Sheppard, D.A. et al. Synthesis and characterisation of a porous Al scaffold sintered from NaAlH4 . J Mater Sci 53, 1076–1087 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1560-1

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