Ceria-zirconia mixed oxides and gold supported oxides exhibit very good thermal stability and catalytic activity, as well as great selectivity. This work has been focused on the controlled synthesis and characterization of cationic- and amphiphilic-templated ceria, zirconia, and ceria-zirconia mixed oxides from nitrate and iso-propoxide precursors, and ceria-zirconia mixed oxides modified with gold via the deposition precipitation method with urea. The characterization of the acidic and basic properties was carried out through two test reactions. A complete chemical and structural characterization of the materials was done using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller Surface Analysis (N₂-BET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), NH₃- Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD)/CO₂-TPD, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Template techniques led to the formation of high surface area mesoporous materials with high activity and thermal stability. In general, the acid sites density was decreased, whereas the basic site density was increased by modification with Au or incorporation of zirconia in case of mixed oxides.

A new theoretical approach has been established to define transport coefficients of charge and mass transport in porous materials directly from impedance data; thus four transport coefficients could be determined. In case of ammonia adsorption on sulfated zirconia, the diffusion coefficient was figured out to be approximately the mobility diffusion coefficient of ammonium ions: 1.2 x 10^-7cm²/s. The transport of carbon dioxide was examined for samples of zeolite type 5A in different hydration states. By impedance spectroscopy measurements, the diffusion coefficient of water vapor at 373 K is estimated to be about 7 x 10^-6cm²/s. The influence of carbon dioxide adsorption on diffusion coefficients is studied based on two pellet types of zeolite 5A. The difference between polar and non-polar gas adsorption in porous solids is considered as changed characteristic of impedance.

Water vapor sorption in salt hydrates is a promising method to realize seasonal solar heat storage. Several of these materials have already shown promising performance for this application. However, a significant bottle neck for applications is the low thermal conductivity. In this study, several fabrication methods of the fixation of salts and their hydrates on metals to overcome the problem are presented. The products are analyzed concerning the hydration states, the corrosion behavior, the chemical compatibility, and the mechanical stability.

Diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectra have been quantitatively evaluated to determine unknown extinction coefficients as well as the number of active surface centers and the amount of adsorbed species. Sulfated zirconia with n-butane as probe gas was used as model system. For quantitative evaluation of n-butane adsorption at 323 K, the sulfate band S=O at 1400 cm⁻¹ was chosen. During adsorption, this band is red-shifted to lower wavenumbers accompanied by a structural change of the band indicating isomerization reaction. By analyzing difference spectra and determining the areas of the selected band, the extinction coefficients as well as the number of active centers and the amount of chemisorbed n-butane were calculated. The quantitative evaluation results in a mean internal decadic extinction coefficient of 60 cm⁻¹ µmol⁻¹, an average amount of n-butane adsorbed to the sulfated zirconia of about 4 μmol, and a number of active centers of around 21 μmol/g. These results correspond very well with values from the literature obtained by microcalorimetry. Thus, this method is suggested to be transferred also to unknown systems of interest.

Adsorption and diffusion of alkanes in sulfated zirconia are characterized by frequency response and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy.