Kinetic of sintering of polyethilene glycol and lanthanum dopped aluminum oxide obtained by the sol-gel method

Sintering and crystallization of low-density polyethylene glycol (PEG) and lanthanum, La(III)-doped Al2O3 aerogels prepared from aluminum isopropoxide were investigated. The sintering behavior of non-doped and doped aerogels was examined by following the change of specific surface area with isothermal heat-treatment. The specific surface area and crystalline phases of non-doped and PEG+La(III)-doped aerogels were determined, and the effects of dopants on the sintering and crystallization of Al2O3 aerogels are discussed. Isothermal sintering experiments showed that the sintering mechanism of non-doped and PEG+La(III)-doped Al2O3 aerogels is surface diffusion. The specific surface areas of alumina samples decrease rapidly during the initial period of sintering, and more slowly with prolonged sintering time. The change of the porous structure is correlated with the phase transformation of γ-Al2O3 during calcinations of Al2O3 aerogels. The surface area of non-doped Al2O3 aerogels came to about 20 m2g-1 with heat-treatment at 1100°C because of crystallization of α-Al2O3 after densification. In the case of heattreatment at 1200°C, the largest surface area was observed for PEG+La(III) doped Al2O3 aerogels and the XRD pattern showed only low ordered θ-Al2O3. These indicate that the addition of PEG+La(III) to boehmite sol prevents Al2O3 aerogels from sintering and crystallizing to the α-Al2O3 phase. Even after 20 h at 1000°C, PEG+La (III)-doped alumina samples maintain a rather good specific surface area (108 m2 g-1) in comparison to the non-doped, containing mainly θ-Al2O3 and minor amounts of δ-Al2O3. Aluminum-oxides with these structural and textural properties are widely used as a coatings and catalyst supports in the field of various catalysis

Textural and fractal properties of CuO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst supports

Reactive amorphous aluminas with a high surface area, suitable as a precursor for catalyst supports, are obtained by flash calcination of gibbsite in a reactor for pneumatic transport in the dilute two phase flow regime. In the present paper we study the effects of the gibbsite dehydration temperature on the textural and fractal properties of activated aluminas. The parameters of the pore structure for all samples were evaluated from nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. On the basis of the sorption-structure analysis, the fractal dimension of the aluminas surface were determined by three methods, according to Pfeifer and Avnir, Neimark et al. and Mahnke and Mögel, with a goal to compare obtained values. As expected, a good agreement between the results of these methods was achieve. The values of the fractal dimension of activated aluminas increase with the increase of the temperature of thermal treatment, indicating that the irregularities of their surfaces are greater

Response surface optimisation for activation of bentonite with microwave irradiation

In this study, the statistical design of the experimental method was applied on the acid activation process of bentonite with microwave irradiation. The influence of activation parameters (time, acid normality and microwave heating power) on the selected process response of the activated bentonite samples was studied. The specific surface area was chosen for the process response, because the chemical, surface and structural properties of the activated clay determine and limit its potential applications. The relationship of various process parameters with the specific surface area of bentonite was examined. A mathematical model was developed using a second-order response surface model (RSM) with a central composite design incorporating the above mentioned process parameters. The mathematical model developed helped in predicting the variation in specific surface area of activated bentonite with time (5-21 min), acid normality (2-7 N) and microwave heating power (63-172 W). The calculated regression models were found to be statistically significant at the required range and presented little variability. Furthermore, high values of R2 (0.957) and R2 (adjusted) (0.914) indicate a high dependence and correlation between the observed and the predicted values of the response. These high values also indicate that about 96% of the result of the total variation can be explained by this model. In addition, the model shows that increasing the time and acid normality improves the textural properties of bentonites, resulting in increased specific surface area. This model also can be useful for setting an optimum value of the activation parameters for achieving the maximum specific surface area. An optimum specific surface area of 142 m2g-1 was achieved with an acid normality of 5.2 N, activation time of 7.38 min and microwave power of 117 W. Acid activation of bentonite was found to occur faster with microwave irradiation than with conventional heating. Microwave-assisted processes have the potential to develop into a cost efficient route for acid activation of bentonite

Fractal analysis of bentonite modified with heteropoly acid using nitrogen sorption and mercury intrusion porosimetry

Experimental adsorption isotherms were used to evaluate the specific surface area and the surface fractal dimensions of acid-activated bentonite samples modified with a heteropoly acid (HPW). The aim of the investigations was to search for correlations between the specific surface area and the geometric heterogeneity, as characterized by the surface fractal dimension and the content of added acid. In addition, mercury intrusion was employed to evaluate the porous microstructures of these materials. The results from the Frankel-Halsey-Hill method showed that, in the p/p0 region from 0.75 to 0.96, surface fractal dimension increased with increasing content of heteropoly acid. The results from mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) data showed the generation of mesoporous structures with important topographical modifications, indicating an increase in the roughness (fractal geometry) of the surface of the solids as a consequence of the modification with the heteropoly acid. By comparison, MIP is preferable for the characterization because of its wide effective probing range