Innovative construction of macroporous–mesoporous structured spherical alumina and its hydrothermal stability--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Mo, Y., Li, C., Li, H., Han, W., Wen, H., Han, Y., . . . Feng, Y. (2024). Innovative construction of macroporous–mesoporous structured spherical alumina and its hydrothermal stability. Particuology, 90, 429-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2024.01.014

Innovative construction of macroporous–mesoporous structured spherical alumina and its hydrothermal stability

Yufan Mo^a, Chunli Li ^a, Huiyu Li ^a, Wei Han^b, He Wen ^b, Yinghong Han ^b, Chunxia Che ^b *, Yongjun Feng^a *

a State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Engineering Center for Hierarchical Catalysts, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
b Lanzhou Petrochemical Research Center, Petrochemical Research Institute, PetroChina, Lanzhou, 730060, China

10.1016/j.partic.2024.01.014

Volume 90, July 2024, Pages 429-435

Received 17 November 2023, Revised 3 January 2024, Accepted 28 January 2024, Available online 6 February 2024, Version of Record 21 February 2024.

E-mail: chechunxia@petrochina.com.cn; yjfeng@mail.buct.edu.cn

Highlights

• Moderate use of surfactants can generate macroporous structures inside γ-Al₂O₃.

• Dodecane soft template dispersed into smaller emulsions under ultrasonic.

• Spherical γ-Al₂O₃ exhibits both mesoporous and macroporous structures.

• Spherical γ-Al₂O₃ display high hydrothermal stability.

Abstract

The pore structure of spherical alumina supports is closely related to the dispersion of catalytically active components and the diffusion of reactants. Maintaining excellent pore structure under strict reaction conditions is of utmost importance. In this work, spherical γ-Al₂O₃ support with a bimodal pore structure, composed of macropores and mesopores, was successfully synthesized using dodecane as the pore-forming agent through the oil–ammonia column-shaping method. The morphology and internal pore structure of the alumina were found to be influenced by the amount of surfactant added and ultrasound treatment conditions. Notably, when concentration of surfactant was 4‰ and ultrasound voltage of 20 V was applied, the resulting γ-Al₂O₃-4‰-20 displayed a highly concentrated distribution of macropores with an average pore size of 100 nm, resulting in an impressive porosity of 69.21%. In contrast, the untreated sample of γ-Al₂O₃-0-0 only exhibited a mesoporous distribution with a porosity of 54.03%. Moreover, after being subjected to a hydrothermal treatment in a high temperature (600 °C) and high humidity (water vapor) environment for 120 h, the γ-Al₂O₃-4‰-20 sample maintained a high BET specific surface area of 170.9 m² g⁻¹ and mercury intrusion porosimetry specific surface area of 263.3 m² g⁻¹.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Spherical alumina supports; Pore-forming agent; Oil-ammonia column shaping method; Hydrothermal treatment; Hydrothermal stability

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