Surface reactivity of aluminas prepared by different techniques

The reaction of atmospheric hydrocarbon on the surface of various alumina samples has been compared with the surface acidity of the samples. It was found by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that adsorbed hydrocarbons were dehydrogenated on some samples, and that the extent of dehydrogenation was dependent on alumina precursor and calcination temperature. The surface acidity of the samples was investigated by temperature programmed desorption, using ammonia and propan-2-ol as probe molecules. The dehydrogenation reactivity for the samples was found to be dependent on surface acidity of the samples. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.