This invention relates to a composition based on Al and Ce in
oxide form (
composition C1); or based on Al, Ce, and La in
oxide form (
composition C2), the composition having the following proportions: - CeO2 proportion between 3.0 wt% and 35.0 wt%; - La2O3 proportion (for
composition C2 only) between 0.1 wt% and 6.0 wt%; - the remainder being Al2O3; the composition exhibits the following
porosity distribution: - pore volume in the range of pore size between 5 nm and 100 nm between 0.35 and 1.00 mL / g; and - pore volume less than or equal to 0.15 mL / g in the range of pore size between 10 nm and 5 nm. The pore volume in the range of 0 nm to 1000 nm, determined by mercury
porosimetry; and the following characteristics: - an average
crystallite size of less than 45.0 nm, preferably less than 40.0 nm, after
calcination in air at 1100 °C for 5 hours (denoted as D1100 °C-5h); - an average
crystallite size of less than 25.0 nm, preferably less than 20.0 nm, and even more preferably less than 15.0 nm, after
calcination in air at 900 °C for 2 hours (denoted as D900 °C-2h); and - the increase in the average
crystallite size of less than 30.0 nm, preferably less than 25.0 nm, ΔD, calculated by the following formula: ΔD = D 1100℃‑2h -D 900℃‑5h The
average size of the crystallites was obtained by XRD from the
diffraction peaks corresponding to the cubic phase of
cerium oxide, which are typically present at 2Φ between 28.0 and 30.0 [111].