Structural and Mechanical Properties of Nanostructured Granular Alumina Catalysts

Granular γ-Al<INF>2</INF>O<INF>3</INF> support and 8 wt % CuO/γ-Al<INF>2</INF>O<INF>3</INF> catalyst were synthesized by a sol−gel granulation method. The pore structure, crush strength, hardness, and elasticity of these sol−gel-derived catalysts were studied and compared with similar commercial catalysts prepared by non-sol−gel methods. Alumina and CuO-coated alumina granular particles prepared by different methods have different macro- and microstructure. The sol−gel-derived granular γ-alumina and CuO-coated γ-alumina granular particles have a structure defined by compact packing of uniform, nanosized γ-alumina crystallites. They are characterized by a more uniform pore size distribution and larger surface area as compared to similar commercial samples with a structure defined by packing of aggregates consisting of nonuniform γ-alumina crystallites. Because of the differences in the macro- and microstructure, the sol−gel-derived granular samples offer higher crush strength and greater hardness than the commercial samples.