Facile synthesis of super-microporous zirconia-based alumina/zirconia with high thermal stability

•Preparation of a series of super-microporous alumina-zirconia materials.•The synthetic strategy is facile and benign without addition of acid or base.•The materials with narrow pore size distribution of 1.5 nm.•The materials with high thermal stability up to 800 °C.

A new family of super-microporous zirconia-based alumina-zirconia materials (pore size 1–2 nm) have been synthesized successfully using an eco-friendly template via an evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) pathway. Moreover, no extra acid or base is added in our synthesis process. When the atomic ratio of aluminum to zirconium is 1, the as-obtained sample exhibits a surface area of 400 m2/g when calcined at 400 °C and can maintain a microporous structure with a high surface area of 216 m2/g even when treated at 800 °C, demonstrating its high thermal stability. The material has functionally support effects in the methanation of syngas.

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