Thermal stability of alumina aerogel doped with yttrium oxide, used as a catalyst support for the thermocatalytic cracking (TCC) process: An investigation of its textural and structural properties Original Research Article

Undoped and yttria doped alumina aerogel are prepared by the (solution) sol–gel method using a supercritical drying technique. The doping concentrations are in the range of 2.5–20.0 wt.% Y2O3, using yttrium(III) nitrate as a precursor. The effect of yttria doping on the structural and textural properties of alumina aerogel is investigated by BET surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM and 27Al MAS NMR.This method of preparation of alumina aerogel provides the most important increases in surface area at 750 °C and up to 1000 °C, when compared to conventional alumina that is obtained via thermal dehydration of boehmite. These results show that the much smaller size of crystallites of alumina aerogel is quite efficient to retard the sintering occurring at these high temperatures.