Surface chemistry of lanthanum chromite I. Multivariate data modelling of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area by the use of particle size distribution data from photon-correlation spectroscopy measurements

Particle size distributions, measured by photon-correlation spectroscopy and Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas, were determined for several lanthanum chromite powders with different dopants. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reveal similarities among the different powders with regard to the input variables particle size, BET surface area, and calcination temperature. Correlation among the variables was also easily revealed by PCA. Partial-least-squares multivariate-response modelling was used to calibrate the BET surface area from particle size data and calcination temperatures. A model explaining 93% of the variance in the data, with good predictive power, was developed. The model revealed that the content of smallest-sized particles and the calcination temperature were important parameters in the prediction of the BET surface area.