The dispersion of NiO supported on boron-modified silicas has been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and XPS. The TEM experiments showed that all NiO is present in the form of crystallites; values for the dispersion were calculated on the basis of measurements of the size distributions of these crystallites. The XPS measurements were interpreted using a model which assumes large particle sizes and no re-partitioning of the supported species between internal pores and the surface when boron-modification is performed. The variations of dispersion with boron content obtained from this model agree well with the variations measured by TEM.
Houalla, M., Delannay, F., & Delmon, B. (1982). The dispersion of nickel oxide supported on boron-modified silicas, as determined by TEM and XPS measurements. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, 25(1), 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/0368-2048(82)85004-4 (Original work published 1982)