Alumina nanopowders produced by electrical explosion of wires were sintered using the spark plasma sintering technique. The results of XRD analysis show that the main phase in the compacted nanopowders is α-Al2O3. According to the SEM observations, the sintered alumina nanopowder consists of micron-sized faceted grains and nano-sized necked grains. The increase in sintering temperature resulted in a higher density of the sintered powders: from 78.44 to 98.21 % of theoretical density.
Keywords: Alumina nanopowders; Electrical explosion of wires; Spark plasma sintering.