Porous Al2O3 microspheres prepared by a novel ice-templated spray drying technique

A novel ice-templated spray drying technique was developed for producing uniform Al2O3 microspheres with controlled pore structures. Surface morphologies of microspheres demonstrated a higher sphericity degree with the increase of solid loading from 1 to 10 vol%. The pore structure of microspheres transformed from randomly distributed pores to aligned macropores, when the spray-height more than doubled using 10 vol% solid loading suspension. The thickness of the aligned pore structure was also influenced by the liquid nitrogen volume in the apparatus.