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Alumina

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Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials

Synonyms

Aluminum oxide; Al2O3

Definition

Alumina is the name used to describe the various oxide compounds formed by aluminum in its trivalent state.

Nanoscale Alumina in the Solid State

There are numerous polymorphs of alumina which could conceivably be described as being polymeric nanomaterials; the many possible arrangements of Al3+-centered octahedra in anhydrous and hydrous forms give rise to a diversity of stable and metastable (“transition”) aluminas. In a technological sense, the most important are the stable α-alumina (corundum) and the metastable γ-alumina. Synthesis of nanosized alumina most often leads to the γ-phase, which is then either sintered to the α-phase or utilized directly [1]. The γ-Al2O3 phase is a defect spinel-type structure, usually cubic [2], although tetragonal distortion is observed in materials obtained by calcination of hydroxide precursors [3]. Aluminum is present in γ-Al2O3in both tetrahedral and octahedral coordination environments, while the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St, S1 3JD, Sheffield, UK

    John L. Provis

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  1. John L. Provis
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Correspondence to John L. Provis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto Institute of Technology R & D Center for Bio-Based Materials, Kyoto, Japan

    Shiro Kobayashi

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Mainz, Germany

    Klaus Müllen

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Provis, J.L. (2015). Alumina. In: Kobayashi, S., Müllen, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36199-9_408-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36199-9_408-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36199-9

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