Abstract
Alumina fibre has been synthesized successfully by sol-gel technique. Boehmite sol was prepared by hydrolyzing aluminium iso-propoxide and peptizing it with nitric acid. The stable sol thus obtained was used for fibre drawing when their viscosity reached the required value as a result of progress of the hydrolyzation and polycondensation reaction. The fibres dried at 11$0^{\circ}C$ for 12 hours were sintered at 1$600^{\circ}C$ for 5 hours. A reasonable sintered density with better microstructure and strength have been attained using 2 wt% of urea, magnesia and silica as sinter additives. Thermal analysis with sintering additives of 2 wt% and phase determination of the heat treated fibres using XRD and FT IR spectra confirms the phase transitions. The observation of surface and cross-section of the fibres were made using SEM. Fibres of uniform circular cross-section is obtained by fixing the shape in a setting solution.