High-surface area γ-alumina is industrially used as a catalyst support. Catalytically active elements are doped onto the support, where they can bind to AlO₄, AlO₅ or AlO₆ sites on the surface. Pretreating the surface with alkaline earth oxides can alter the availability of these surface sites, hence affecting the catalytic activity. The surface binding sites of strontium oxide (SrO) on γ-alumina were previously unknown. Direct ²⁷Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) could not detect AlO₅ sites at 9.4 T, so ¹H–²⁷Al cross-polarisation (CP) MAS NMR was used to preferentially select the surface environment signals. We directly observed the three surface environments on dehydrated γ-alumina as a function of SrO impregnation up to 4 wt% SrO. We found that Sr²⁺ preferentially binds to AlO₅ and AlO₆ surface sites. ¹H MAS NMR revealed SrO impregnation causes a reduction in the terminal (−0.3 ppm) and bridging (2.2 ppm) hydroxyl environments, as well as the promotion of a new peak in between these sites, at 0.5 ppm. By using ¹H–²⁷Al CP/MAS NMR the relative proportions of surface sites on γ-alumina can be determined, allowing an optimal level of SrO doping that can saturate all the AlO₅ sites. Importantly, this provides a method of subsequently depositing catalytically active elements on just the AlO₄ or AlO₆ sites, which can provide a different catalytic activity or stability compared to the AlO₅ binding site.

Heterogeneous catalysis often involves the use of metal nanoparticles, often between 1–10 nm in size. These particles are usually finely dispersed onto high surface area supports and act as an active centre during a catalytic reaction. The performance of a supported catalyst can be directly related to the size and spatial distribution of the metal nanoparticles. Therefore, it is of...

This book represents the latest magnum opus in a line of multi-author books on process tomography, with the first dating from 20 years ago. Following in the tradition of Beck and Williams (1) this book presents a comprehensive overview of process relevant tomographic modalities, reconstruction techniques and industrial applications. The editor Professor Mi Wang has done an excellent job...

In Part I of this Final Analysis series (1), the identification and quantification of elements by X-ray (excited) photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was discussed. A statement was made that the core energy levels do not vary a great deal – but there is usually some variation for a given element in different chemical forms. This can be thought of as being caused by variations in the oxidation...