Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous alumina materials with large pore size prepared by a double hydrolysis route

Large mesoporous aluminas have been prepared by mixing two oppositely charged alumina sources in the presence of surfactants in aqueous media. The resulting materials showed a disordered mesostructure with large mesoporous frameworks. Herein, an alternative mechanism of formation is proposed which does not presume exact knowledge of how the presence of micellar aggregates affects the final architecture of the material. The structural properties obtained are very interesting for potential applications in catalysis, such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodechlorination. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.