Porous inorganic composite oxide

1. A porous inorganic composite oxide, comprising oxides of aluminum and cerium, or oxides of aluminum and zirconium, or oxides of aluminum, cerium, and zirconium, and, optionally, one or more oxides of dopants selected from transition metals, rare earths, and mixtures thereof, said inorganic composite oxide having:

(a) a specific surface area after calcining at 1100° C. for 5 hours of greater than or equal to that calculated according to Equation (2):

SA=0.8235[Al]+11.157  (Eq. 2)

wherein:

SA is the BET specific surface area of the inorganic composite oxide, in square meters per gram, and

[Al] is the amount of oxides of aluminum in the composite oxide, expressed as pbw Al 2 O 3 per 100 pbw of the composite oxide, and

(b) a total pore volume after calcining at 900° C. for 2 hours of greater than or equal to that calculated according to Equation (4.1):

PV=0.0097[Al]+0.0647  (Eq. 4.1)

wherein:

PV is the pore volume of the inorganic composite oxide, in cubic centimeters per gram, and

[Al] is as defined above in regard to Equation (2).

2. The composite oxide of claim 1 , wherein the composite oxide comprises, each in an amount, expressed in parts by weight of discrete binary oxide of the respective element per 100 parts by weight of the composite oxide, of:

(a) from about 20 to about 98 parts by weight Al 2 O 3 , and

(b)(i) from about 2 to about 80 parts by weight ZrO 2 , or

(b)(ii) from about 2 to about 80 parts by weight CeO 2 , or

(b)(iii) from about 2 to less than 78 parts by weight ZrO 2 , and from 2 to 78 parts by weight CeO 2 , provided that the combined amount of ZrO 2 and CeO 2 does not exceed 80 parts by weight, and

(c) optionally, up to about 15 parts by weight of oxides of one or more dopants selected from transition metals, rare earths, and mixtures thereof.

3. The composite oxide of claim 2 , wherein the composite oxide comprises oxides of one or more dopants.

4. The composite oxide of claim 3 , wherein the composite oxide comprises oxides of aluminum and a lanthanum, wherein, with the amounts of oxides of aluminum and lanthanum in the composite oxide each expressed as an amount of discrete binary oxide of the respective element, the amount of La 2 O 3 is greater than or equal to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight Al 2 O 3 .

5. The composite oxide of claim 4 , wherein the composite oxide comprises oxides of aluminum, zirconium, cerium and a yttrium, wherein, with the amounts of oxides of zirconium, cerium, and yttrium each expressed as an amount of discrete binary oxide of the respective element, the amount of Y 2 O 3 is greater than or equal to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the combined amount of ZrO 2 and CeO 2 .

6. The composite oxide of claim 4 , wherein the composite oxide comprises oxides of aluminum, zirconium, cerium and yttrium and further comprises at least one oxide of lanthanum, neodymium, or praseodymium, wherein, with the amounts of oxides of zirconium, cerium, and dopant elements each expressed as an amount of discrete binary oxide of the respective element:

the combined amount of La 2 O 3 , Nd 2 O 3 , and Pr 6 O 11 is greater than or equal to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight Al 2 O 3 , and

the amount of Y 2 O 3 is greater than or equal to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the combined amount of ZrO 2 and CeO 2 .

7. The composite oxide of claim 1 , wherein the composite oxide exhibits a BET specific surface area after calcining at 1200° C. for 5 hours of greater than or equal to that calculated according to Equation (3.1):

SA=0.3[Al]+7  (Eq. 3.1)

where SA and [Al] are each as defined for Equation (2).

8. The composite oxide of claim 1 , wherein the composite oxide exhibits a pore volume after calcining at 900° C. for 2 hours of greater than or equal to that calculated according to Equation (4.2):

PV=0.0107[Al]+0.25  (Eq. 4.2)

wherein PV and [Al] are each as defined for Equation (4.1).

9. The composite oxide of claim 1 , wherein the composite oxide comprises oxides of aluminum, cerium, and zirconium, and wherein the composite oxide optionally further comprises oxides of one or more dopants, and wherein the oxides of cerium and zirconium form a solid solution.

10. The composite oxide of claim 1 , wherein the composite oxide exhibits a crystalline structure prior to calcination and retains substantially the same crystalline structure after calcining at 900° C. for 2 hours.

11. A catalyst, comprising one or more noble metals dispersed on the porous inorganic composite oxide of claim 1 .