Thermal behaviour of the precursors of ruthenia-titania based mixed oxides

Studies on ruthenia-titania based materials have been attractive because of their catalytic properties as well as due to the possibility of solid solution formation. Samples of pure ruthenia and ruthenia containing various amounts of titania (10-70 mol%) were investigated during heating of their hydroxide precursors from 20 to 800°C in air using emanation thermal analysis (ETA), thermogravimetry (TG), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The resulting mixed oxide type materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which indicate the presence of three ruthenia-titania phases. The onset temperature of the crystallization of materials was identified by ETA results, whereas DTA effects characterized the crystallization in bulk of the samples. A good agreement was found between the ETA results and other characterization techniques used. ETA results, indicating the microstructural changes in surface and subsurface of ruthenia-titania based catalytic materials, can be used for optimization of their synthesis protocols to achieve the better physical properties.