PtSiO2: II. Characterization of the gel and the platinum particles by X-Ray diffraction

Modern techniques for analysis of X-ray diffraction profiles have been applied to several of the platinum-silica gel catalysts described in Part I to determine average platinum crystallite size, percentage exposed, crystallite shape, size distribution, lattice parameter, residual stresses and strains, presence or absence of faulting, and mean-square amplitude of vibration. In addition the surface area of the gel was determined with small-angle scattering (SAS). There is good agreement between the percentage exposed of platinum measured by gas adsorption in Part I and the results reported here, calculated from crystallite sizes, indicating the crystallite size is the true platinum particle size. Crystallites to sizes as small as ≈25 Å have been examined. Furthermore, the crystallites are equiaxed in shape (and definitely not cuboidal) and are strain and defect free, except in the case where the average size is near the pore size of the gel. Size distributions are sharper when the catalyst preparation is by impregnation rather than by ion exchange. The size distributions indicate that there is coalescence of some surface species during preparation rather than coarsening (Ostwald ripening). The meansquare amplitude of vibration of platinum increases by ≈30% as the particles decrease in size from ≈100 to ≈25 Å. There is no change in the lattice parameter greater than ≈0.1%. The gel surface areas determined by SAS are in agreement with those determined in Part I by physisorbtion of nitrogen.