Synthesis of mixed oxide composition

Claim 1

A process for producing a solid amorphous precursor gel composed of at least two metal oxides, said solid gel being free of water and hydroxyl groups and having a specific surface area higher than 10 square meters per gram, consisting essentially of reacting under reflux conditions in a substantially moisture-free atmosphere a mixture of metal alkoxide and metal halide at a temperature ranging from about room temperature up to about 250° C. at a pressure ranging from atmospheric pressure to superatmospheric pressure ranging up to about 10 atmospheres forming a polymeric reaction product, said metal alkoxide being M n (OR) n where M n is metal ion, R is an alkyl radical, and n is the valence of M n , said metal halide being M e X e where M e is metal ion different from M n , X is a halide selected from the group consisting of chloride, bromide, iodide and fluoride, and e is the valence of M e , heating said polymeric reaction product in a substantially moisture-free atmosphere at a temperature ranging from about 100° C. up to about 300° C. producing a polymeric product insoluble in ethyl ether at room temperature, pyrolyzing said ether-insoluble polymeric product in air or oxygen at a temperature ranging from about 450° C. to about 600° C. producing said gel comprised of a submicroscopically homogeneous mixture of the oxides of M n and M e and up to about 0.02% by weight of elemental carbon based on the total weight of said gel.