Microporous TiO Research Articles

Sol–Gel Route to Synthesis of Microporous Ceramic Membranes: Preparation and Characterization of Microporous TiO2 and ZrO2 Xerogels

This paper focuses on the preparation and characterization of pure TiO2 and ZrO2 xerogels. The preparation method is based on a sol–gel technique using metal tert‐amyloxides as precursors to produce nano‐sized metal oxide particles which are subsequently packed in a gelation process, eventually resulting in microporous xerogele. The unsupported TiO2 and ZrO2 xerogele produced in this manner have a mean pore diameter less than 2 nm and more than 50% microporosity. However, these gels, in their pure form, are thermally stable only to 350°C. Improved thermal stabilities of mixed metal oxide xerogels will be reported elsewhere.

Sol–Gel Route to Synthesis of Microporous Ceramic Membranes: Thermal Stability of TiO2–ZrO2Mixed Oxides

In this paper concerning the synthesis of microporous ceramic membranes, we focus on the preparation and ther‐ mal stability of unsupported microporous TiO2‐ZrO2, mixed‐oxide membranes. It has been observed that, by add‐ ing up to 20% ZrO2, into TiO2, or up to 10% TiO2, into ZrO2, these microporous membranes display improved thermal stability. They can be fired up to 500°C for 0.5 h without closing micropores. However, membranes containing almost equal percentages of each component have lost microporous features and have low surface areas and low porosities. A phase diagram of a two‐component TiO2‐ ZrO2, mixed‐oxide membrane has been prepared based on DTA and X‐ray diffraction data in order to better under‐ stand the microstructure changes upon firing.