Preparation of porous ceramometal composites through the stages of mechanical activation and hydrothermal partial oxidation of Me–Al powders

•Porous ceramometals were prepared from Me–Al powders (Me = Cr, Co, Cu, Fe).•Preparation includes mechanical activation and hydrothermal treatment.•Hierarchical pore structure includes ultramacropores up to few tens μm.•Cermets show enhanced compressing strength, loading density, thermal conductivity.•Certmets demonstrate improved activity and attrition resistance.

Basic stages of porous cermets preparation from MeAl (Me = Cr, Cu, Co, Fe) powders are elaborated including mechanical activation of Me–Al blends, soft hydrothermal treatment of mechanically alloyed blends followed by thermal treatment thus allowing to control their mechanical, thermophysical and textural properties. Ceramometal monoliths with metallic particles (up to 80 wt.%) randomly distributed in the oxide matrix are characterized by the hierarchical pore structure with developed ultramacropores which provides their high permeability. Mesoporosity of ceramometal monoliths was developed by incorporation of mesoporous components into their structure. Monolithic catalysts based on these cermet substrates were shown to be promising for different fields of application in catalysis.

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