Investigation of dehydroxylation of gibbsite into boehmite by DSC analysis

The dehydroxylation of gibbsite into boehmite was investigated by means of DSC analysis under non-isothermal conditions in the temperature range 453–673 K at heating rates from 2.5 to 20.0 K min^?1. Mathematical analysis of the experimental DSC curves revealed the mechanism and kinetics of the gibbsite dehydroxylation process. The kinetic curvesα=f(t) andα=f(T) are sigmoidal in shape; their inflection points and the ν_m point of the curvesν=f(T) andν=f(T) are interrelated and are defined by the concept of a stationary point. The activation energy for the first stage of gibbsite dehydroxylation in the temperature range 453–673 K is 132.92±8.33–142.26±8.33 kJ mol^?1.