Characterization of a chromia–alumina catalyst using small‐angle neutron scattering

Neutron scattering has been employed to study the pore structure of a chromia–alumina catalyst. The results indicated the existence of three distinct scattering regimes with distinct slopes corresponding to the values of the wavevector, Q . The analysis of the scattering in these regions suggested that the large‐ Q region corresponds to Porod's law scattering and provides information on the specific surface area. The intermediate Q region arises from scattering from hollow capillaries and provides information on the dimension of the capillaries. The small‐ Q behaviour arises from the relative spatial arrangement of capillaries, which appear to form a `fractal' network.