Effect of Calcination Temperature on Morphological and Topography of Nickel-Alumina Thin Film

Abstract

Dip coating process promises good potential of nickel-alumina catalyst deposition on metal substrate for various applications especially in gas conversion reaction. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different calcination temperature on nickel-alumina catalysts thin film formation. Four different calcination temperature were used, which are 300°C, 400°C, 500°C and 600°C. The calculation process was conducted for a duration of 90 minutes. The deposited thin films were characterized using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) equipment. The AFM result showed that the surface roughness of the nickel-alumina increase proportionally from 56 to 275 nm when the calcination temperature increased from 300 to 600°C. From an observation at high calcination temperature, the atom of grains assisted diffusion at the crystallite point causing grain with lower surface energy become larger. As the calcination temperature increase, the surface profile becomes rough and uneven representing high surface roughness. Thus, the effect of calcination temperature greatly influences the surface roughness of the nickel-alumina thin film.