hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
This chapter discusses zirconia nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous material SBA-15. Zirconia particles are incorporated in the ordered mesoporous material SBA-15 by impregnating the calcined host material with zirconia precursor solutions and subsequent heat treatments. The materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-sorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Different analytical techniques indicate the incorporation of zirconia clusters inside the host structure with particle sizes between 3 and 5 nm and the existence of a small amount of zirconia particles outside the host structure. According to the XRD pattern, the SBA-15 support stabilizes the tetragonal phase and the particle size up to a temperature of 1373 K. The materials are additionally sulfated by standard methods and exhibit in contrast to sulfated bulk zirconia a lower catalytic activity in the n-butane isomerization.