Structural and Acidic Properties of Niobia-Silica and Niobia-Alumina Aerogels

Abstract

This study used a variety of techniques to establish the structural- chemical property relationships over niobia, niobia-silica, and niobia-alumina binary oxide aerogels. The objective is to develop a comparative set of samples of known structure for chemical characterization. Bulk oxide aerogels of niobia, alumina, and silica were prepared as base oxides by the sol-gel method followed by supercritical extraction to dry the solvent-ladened gel. The synthesis of the bulk niobia aerogel was followed by a 500 C calcination and yielded the highest surface area, 190 m2/g, ever reported for bulk niobia. Other physical properties of the aerogel of niobia such as total pore volume and average pore diameter were significantly higher than found previously for conventionally prepared niobia. Laser Raman Spectroscopy (LRS) and pyridine adsorption experiments were used to investigate the structural and chemical properties of the niobia aerogel as a function of heat treatment.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 06, 1991
Accession Number
ADA235864

Entities

People

  • Scott M. Maurer

Organizations

  • Carnegie Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acids
  • Alkenes
  • Chemical Products
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Critical Temperature
  • Crystal Structure
  • Diffraction
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Heat Energy
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Measurement
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Phase Transformations
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy

Readers

  • Electrochemical Engineering/ Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Directed Energy - Pulsed-Laser Deposition