ORIGINAL PAPER Novel one-pot dry method for large-scale production of nano c-Al 2 O 3 from gibbsite under dry conditions Sajad Kiani 1,3 • Abdolreza Samimi 2 • Alimorad Rashidi 1 Received: 26 July 2015 / Accepted: 22 December 2015 Ó Springer-Verlag Wien 2015 Abstract An unprecedented facile one-pot dry method using commercial gibbsite in the presence of ammonium bicarbonate is introduced for the large-scale production of nanostructured gamma alumina particles (NGAs). The efficacy of different non-toxic chelating agents was studied through a dry process in an autoclave reactor, set at a low pressure (60 psi) and temperature (85 °C), and calcination at 450–550 °C was obtained c-Al 2 O 3 . The synthesized physical NGAs were characterized using a variety of techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, field-emission scan- ning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray, N 2 adsorption/desorption, fourier transform infrared spec- troscopy, and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyzer. The Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area, pore volume, and average pore size were determined as 360 m 2 g -1 , 0.5 cm 3 g -1 , and 7 nm, respectively, under optimum conditions. Importantly, it was shown that the dry method is well suited for the synthesis of NGAs in the presence of ammonium bicarbonate. Particles were further tuned by controlling reaction temperature, the concentra- tion of the chelating agents, and calcination time. These results demonstrate that a dry method strategy using inexpensive gibbsite and precursors for synthesis of NGAs, instead of aluminum alkoxides, make these materials ideal candidates for numerous applications, including heteroge- neous catalysis and adsorbents. Graphical abstract Keywords Nano gamma alumina particles Á Gibbsite Á Dry method synthesis Á Solvent-deficient Á One-pot Á Catalyst supports Introduction As a class of mesoporous materials with attractive prop- erties, such as uniform pores, high surface area, and narrow pore-size distribution (PSD), accompanied by different key properties, such as high mechanical strength, chemical constancy, and thermal stability [1], alumina are highly suitable for catalysts and catalyst supports [2, 3], adsor- bents in the separation process [4], surface coatings, and ceramic raw materials [5], as well as for optical and elec- tronic applications [6–8]. Rapidly growing global demand means that the large-scale production of nanostructured aluminum oxides will have reached over 10,000 tons in & Sajad Kiani kiani.sajad@hotmail.com Alimorad Rashidi rashidiam@ripi.ir 1 Nanotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, P.O. Box 14665-1998, Iran 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran 3 Center for Research in Nanotechnology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran 123 Monatsh Chem DOI 10.1007/s00706-015-1642-1