Nanotubular Gamma Alumina with High-Energy External Surfaces: Synthesis and High Performance for Catalysis

Inorganic nanocrystals catalysts with a high proportion of high-energy surfaces can bring about high performance for catalysis and has been an important research topic in the past decades. Gamma alumina is one of the most important inorganic oxides used as solid acids or catalytic support for many more industrial catalysts. However, the preparation of gamma alumina mainly with high-energy external surfaces has never been reported because it has a complicated crystal structure. We demonstrate here in depth a new-type γ-alumina material from a systematic investigation, which is controllably synthesized as regular nanotubes with high-energy {111} facets as main external surfaces. The new-type material shows much better performance as acid catalyst or catalytic support for metals, as compared with common γ-alumina whose main exposed surface is stable {100} or {110} facets in irregular morphology. As an example, palladium loaded on the new-type γ-alumina is easily prepared in higher dispersion and unique elect...