Assessment of the 3 D Pore Structure and Individual Components of Preshaped Catalyst Bodies by X-Ray Imaging.

Porosity in catalyst particles is essential because it enables reactants to reach the active sites and it enables products to leave the catalyst. The engineering of composite-particle catalysts through the tuning of pore-size distribution and connectivity is hampered by the inability to visualize structure and porosity at critical-length scales. Herein, it is shown that the combination of phase-contrast X-ray microtomography and high-resolution ptychographic X-ray tomography allows the visualization and characterization of the interparticle pores at micro- and nanometer-length scales.