New masking liquids for the analysis of supported catalysts and functional materials by small-angle X-ray scattering

A new contrasting procedure is proposed for studying supported catalysts and functional materials by small-angle scattering. The main advantage over earlier analogues is the use of new masking liquids, which possess very low X-ray absorption at a relatively high density. A number of supported catalysts were studied using the new procedure, and almost complete agreement of the particle-size distributions of supported metals with transmission electron-microscopic data was demonstrated. The use of the new contrasting procedure on a typical small-angle diffractometer makes it possible to obtain the particle-size distributions of metals in supported catalysts containing noble metals at a level to 0.1 wt %.