Characterization of Mesoporous Zirconium and Cerium Oxides by Transmission Electron Microscopy

Mesoporous materials have typical average pore diameters in the range 20 – 500 Å, which are usually accompanied by high specific surface area (ABET) and large pore volume (Vp) with narrow pore size distributions. These features are very attractive for potential application as catalysts and adsorbents. Mesoporous materials are usually prepared by soft templating or nanocasting process. The latter approach is based on the replication of hard-templates, such as mesoporous silica (e.g. SBA-15), being a very flexible and suitable method to obtain stable and predictable pore mesostructures. However, the chemical compatibility between the template and the precursors must be ensured.