A commercial sample of Boehmite was used as precursor of alumina polymorphs. For comparison, three other precursors were synthesized from different methods. Particularly, the use of excess of urea promoted a very crystalline form of basic aluminum carbonate. The characteristics of the four precursors were investigated by thermal, vibrational and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. Additionally, the nuclear magnetic resonance, with magic angle spinning (Al-27 MAS NMR), was used to verify the coordination of aluminum cations. Each precursor was calcined at various temperatures generating alumina polymorphs, which were structurally analyzed by XRD and Al-27 MAS NMR. Due to interest in catalysis supports, special attention was given to the gamma-Al2O3 phase, which in addition to structural investigation was subjected to textural analysis. The results showed that, from different synthesis procedures and common route of calcination, one can obtain materials with the same composition but with different structural and textural properties, which in turn can significantly influence the performance of a supported catalyst. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.