Research Article Influence of Molybdenum Content and MoO  − Species on the Textural and Structural ZrO 2 Properties Alberto Hernández Zapién, 1 Juan Manuel Hernández Enríquez, 1 Ricardo García Alamilla, 1 Guillermo Sandoval Robles, 1 Ulises Páramo García, 1 and Luz Arcelia García Serrano 2 1 Instituto Tecnol´ ogico de Ciudad Madero, Divisi´ on de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigaci´ on, Juventino Rosas y Jes´ us Urueta s/n, Colonia Los Mangos, 89440 Ciudad Madero, TAMPS, Mexico 2 Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, 30 de Junio No. 1520, Barrio La Laguna Ticom´ an, 07340 M´ exico, DF, Mexico Correspondence should be addressed to Juan Manuel Hern´ andez Enr´ ıquez; jmanuelher@hotmail.com Received 4 October 2014; Accepted 28 November 2014; Published 18 December 2014 Academic Editor: Bin Li Copyright © 2014 Alberto Hern´ andez Zapi´ en et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te present work proposes to study the incorporation of molybdenum into the zirconium oxide precursor (Zr(OH) 4 ), in order to analyze its possible repercussions on the textural and structural zirconia properties (ZrO 2 ). For this, the Zr(OH) 4 was synthesized by the sol-gel method and modifed with 5, 10, and 15 wt% of molybdenum into the stabilized oxide. Te synthesized materials were dried at 120 ∘ C for 24 h and then were calcined at 600 ∘ C for 3 h. Te characterization of the solids was carried out by thermal analysis, X-ray difraction, nitrogen physisorption, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Te thermal analyses results showed that the change from the amorphous to the crystalline phase of ZrO 2 is shifed to higher temperatures due to the presence of molybdenum content. Tetragonal phase was identifed for all synthesized materials, showing a decrease in crystallinity as a function of the metal content. Te textural properties were improved due to the incorporation of molybdenum into the ZrO 2 structure, developing specifc surface areas which are above up to four times the area of pure ZrO 2 . Te synthesized materials presented spherical morphology with particle sizes less than 1 m, with a change of this morphology for high metal contents (15 wt%) being observed. 1. Introduction Catalysis is a crucial science for the chemical industry development. About 80% of manufactured chemicals are obtained by processes that require the use of a catalyst [1]. Specifcally, in the oil refning industry, in processes such as isomerization and alkylation of light parafns, which involve solid-gas reactions, require solid acid catalysts with adequate specifc surface area and high thermal stability [2– 5], which may be improved by manipulating some variables during the precursor synthesis. Zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) has been widely studied for this type of reactions because of its acid-base properties [6–9]. Tis catalytic support can be synthesized via precipitation, microemulsion, hydrothermal synthesis, supercritical synthesis, pyrolysis, microwave, and the sol-gel route [10–12]. Te sol-gel method has gained great difusion since it allows preparing materials with high purity, homogeneity, and controlled fnal properties [13, 14]. Te precursor of zirconium oxide (Zr(OH) 4 ) can be obtained through the sol-gel method using metallic alkoxides, showing high specifc surface area afer being synthesized; however this parameter decreases by efect of thermal treatments to which the material is subjected for obtaining the stabilized oxide [15, 16] and this evinces its poor thermal stability. In the literature it has been reported that the stability and the specifc surface area of zirconium oxide are enhanced by the addition of some promoter agents in its structure (SO 4 2− , PO 4 3− , and BO 3 3− ions), which also stabilize the tetragonal phase of ZrO 2 and improve their acidic properties [2, 17– 19]. However, the main disadvantage that arises when using Hindawi Publishing Corporation Advances in Materials Science and Engineering Volume 2014, Article ID 432031, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/432031