Boron nitride: A high potential support for combustion catalysts

High surface area BN powders have been prepared from different precursors to be used as supports for noble metal catalysts. The more suitable boron nitride powders were obtained using polytrichoroborazine, pTCB, as precursor, leading to a surface area higher than 150 m2/g. The BN powders were characterized by XRD, XPS, TG, SEM and adsorption microcalorimetry measurements (aniline and ammonia). The preliminary results showed a remarkable stability of the BN supports, even in the presence of moisture. Palladium impregnation of the BN powders was performed using a classical method and the obtained catalysts exhibited a high dispersion with Pd particles of about 4 nm.