Characterization of mesoporous alumina molecular sieves synthesized by nonionic templating

Mesoporous aluminas were produced by nonionic supramolecular templating and characterized to determine the stability of their physical structure during extended calcination at elevated temperatures. The effect of synthesis temperature on the physical structure of these materials and the resulting thermal evolution from synthesized aluminum hydroxide to transitional alumina was studied using thermogravimetric analysis. A high resolution multiple quantum magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy method was used to determine quantitatively the evolution of the aluminum coordination during the thermal processing. The mesoporous alumina exhibited high stability upon prolonged heating, which is essential for their future applications in catalytic chemistry. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.