Drying process directly affect in structure of the silica support for catalysts. Therefore, we herein prepared bimodal meso-macropore structure of silica by sol-gel method and investigated the silica support obtained from various drying techniques, namely, hot air drying (HA), microwave drying(MW)and freeze drying (FD)by means of BET and BJH N₂-sorption, and SEM. The results showed a significant effect of drying technique on the textural properties of the dried bimodal porous silica support. In addition, it was found that freeze drying could enhance surface area of silica support with higher than 500 m²/g.

Keywords: bimodal meso-macropore structure silica support: drying technology: freeze drying: hot air drying: microwave drying