Effect of water to surfactant ratio (R) on the particle size of MgAl<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf> nanoparticle prepared via reverse micelle process

Magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4) spinel nanoparticles were synthesized using micro-reactors made of poly(oxyethylene) nonylphenyl ether/water/cyclohexane microemulsions. The influence of water to surfactant ratio on the resulting particle size of MgAl2O4 has been studied. The average particle size was found to increase with increase in water to surfactant molar ratio and the average particle size increases from 13 to 17 nm on increasing the molar ratio from 2 to 8. Water to surfactant ratio is a major factor in controlling the final particle size of MgAl2O4 powder. X-ray diffraction analysis of all the powders indicated the formation of single-phase spinel structure on calcination. The FTIR spectra show the lower frequency bands are assigned to AlO6 octohedra in MgAl2O4. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.