title: Assessment of the 3 D Pore Structure and Individual Components of Preshaped Catalyst Bodies by X-Ray Imaging.
abstract: Porosity in catalyst particles is essential because it enables reactants to reach the active sites and it enables products to leave the catalyst. The engineering of composite-particle catalysts through the tuning of pore-size distribution and connectivity is hampered by the inability to visualize structure and porosity at critical-length scales. Herein, it is shown that the combination of phase-contrast X-ray microtomography and high-resolution ptychographic X-ray tomography allows the visualization and characterization of the interparticle pores at micro- and nanometer-length scales. Furthermore, individual components in preshaped catalyst bodies used in fluid catalytic cracking, one of the most used catalysts, could be visualized and identified. The distribution of pore sizes, as well as enclosed pores, which cannot be probed by traditional methods, such as nitrogen physisorption and isotherm analysis, were determined.
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Julio C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mader
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holler
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haberthür
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guizar-Sicairos
authors.affiliation: Grace Catalysts Technologies 7500 Grace Drive, Columbia, MD 21044 (USA).
authors.forename: Wu-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Grace Catalysts Technologies 7500 Grace Drive, Columbia, MD 21044 (USA).
authors.forename: Yuying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raabe
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menzel
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI 5232 (Switzerland) E-mail: julio-cesar.da-silva@psi.ch ; Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich Zurich, 8093 (Switzerland) E-mail: jeroen.vanbokhoven@chem.ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Jeroen A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: van Bokhoven
keywords: X-ray imaging; nanostructures; porosity; ptychography; zeolites