Continuous synthesis of monodispersed alumina particles by the hydrolysis of metal alkoxide using a Taylor vortex

Abstract

A continuous reactor was developed for industrial production of monodispersed alumina particles from metal alkoxide. Taylor vortex flows were used for solution mixing. Each of the Taylor vortices functioned as a batch reaction vessel. Monodispersed spherical alumina particles were prepared by hydrolyzing aluminum alkoxide in a mixture of octanol and acetonitrile. The particles were continuously produced for 5 h by using this reactor. Particle size and distribution were comparable to those obtained by batch processing. We investigated the effects of Taylor number (Ta) and residence time on the particle size, particle size distribution, yield, and particle number density of monodispersed alumina particles, which were obtained at Ta numbers from 50 to 150.