Inverse replica of porous glass as catalyst support

Porous glass granules with a pore size of about 150 nm and a specific surface area of 44 m(2)/g were used as crystallization matrix for ceria. A complete pore filling revealed porous granules of CeO2 after removal of the glass matrix. The new material consists of primary crystallites with sizes between 8 to 20 nm and shows a surface area of 48 m(2)/g. It possesses a structure comparable to the former pores of the glass matrix detected by SEM. This inverse replica was used as a support for gold particles which could be deposited from a colloidal solution (d(Au,colloid) = 1-2 nm). Its catalytic performance during the oxidation of ethylene glycol was compared to a likewise impregnated porous glass, previously used as exotemplate.