Process for producing supported skeletal catalytic materials

A process for producing a supported skeletal catalytic material including the steps of:

• a. providing a starting material which has a microstructure which includes a solid solution matrix based on a material selected from the group consisting of Al and Si, and alloys and mixtures thereof, and which contains discrete intermetallic particles of a compound between the predominant element of the matrix phase and a catalytically active metal or alloy;
• b. dissolving the matrix in an aqueous caustic solution to produce a compound between the caustic material cation and the matrix material, with the evolution of hydrogen, with the reaction conditions being such that a substantial amount of excess caustic and water remain at the conclusion of the dissolution step, said dissolving process also being effective to remove at least a portion of the non-catalytic element from the intermetallic particles so as to produce skeletal catalytic particles;
• c. adding an acidic material to reduce the pH of the solution to between about 6 and about 9, with the concurrent formation of salts (based on the cation of the caustic constituent and the anion of the acidic material) and hydroxides (based on matrix material) to produce a hydroxide gel, said gel also containing the skeletal catalytic particles;
• d. washing the gel to effectively remove the salt constituent;
• e. drying the gel to remove the water;
• f. calcining the dried gel in a reducing atmosphere to produce an oxide ceramic based on the original matrix material which contains dispersed skeletal catalytic particles.