Na ß“-alumina (Na1.67Mg67Al10.33O17) is a non-stoichiometric sodium aluminate which exhibits fast ionic conduction of the Na+ ions in two dimensions. The Na+ ions can be exchanged with a variety of mono-, di-, and trivalent cations. The resulting exchanged materials also show high ionic conductivities.Considerable interest in the Na+-Nd3+-ß“-aluminas has been generated as a result of the recent observation of lasing in the pulsed and cw modes. A recent TEM investigation on a 100% exchanged Nd ß“-alumina sample found evidence for the intergrowth of two different structure types. Microdiffraction revealed an ordered phase coexisting with an apparently disordered phase, in which the cations are completely randomized in two dimensions. If an order-disorder transition is present then the cooling rates would be expected to affect the microstructures of these materials which may in turn affect the optical properties. The purpose of this work was to investigate the affect of thermal treatments upon the micro-structural and optical properties of these materials.
