Low Temperature Preparation of Aluminum Titanate Film via Sol-Gel Method

Aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5) film was prepared via sol-gel method at low temperature, using ethyl acetoacetate and anhydrous citric acid as compound chelating agent, tetrabutyl titanate (Ti (OC4H9)4) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3.6H2O) as precursors, ethanol as solvent. The phase transformation of Al2TiO5 xerogel during heat treatment, the effect of different chelating agents on the synthesis of Al2TiO5, and the phase composition and morphology of film were investigated by means of differential thermal and thermo gravimetric analysis (DTA-TG), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results demonstrate that Al2TiO5 can be synthesized at 750 °C by using compound chelating agent, rather than single chelating agent. Compound chelating agent contributes to the formation of Al-O-Ti heterogeneous bond, which is the key to preparing Al2TiO5 at low temperature. High quality Al2TiO5 film could be coated on the SiC substract at 750°C.