Preparation of catalyst matrixes of controlled porous texture from silica and alumina sols.

In this work, sol–gel transition is used in order to prepare silica and silica-alumina with tailor-made texture for catalyst matrix (or support) purposes. Silica and silica-alumina are obtained from commercial sols of silica (Ludox) and alumina (Chlorhydrol) destabilized with electrolyte addition or drying. The influence of preparation operating parameters on gelation time and texture of final products is studied. In particular, the main role of the diameter of elementary silica particles on xerogel texture is evidenced.