Copper-containing spherical mesoporous silicates prepared by template-ion exchange: a multitechnique characterization and oxidation properties

CORINA M. CHANQUÍA; ANALÍA CÁNEPA; JULIÁN BAZÁN AGUIRRE; KARIM SAPAG; ENRIQUE RODRIGUEZ CASTELLON; PATRICIO REYES; EDUARDO R. HERRERO; SANDRA G. CASUSCELLI; GRISELDA A. EIMER

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2012 vol. 151 p. 2 - 2

41S type mesoporous silicate particles with spherical morphology containing copper nano-species were successfully synthesized by the template-ion exchange (TIE) method and compared with those synthesized by the direct hydrothermal (DHT) method. Various techniques including XRD, AAS, adsorption/desorption of N2, SEM, TEM, TGA, UV-Vis-DRS, TPR, XPS and FT-IR-Py, were employed for the nanocatalysts characterization. A narrow distribution of silicate particle size between 2 and 3 microns, and a primary mesoporosity were evidenced by electronic microscopy, even for loadings of copper of about 7 wt. %. All the materials exhibited a good structural regularity, besides of high surface areas (> 1000 m2/g) and pore volumes (~ 1 cm3/g). A secondary mesoporosity, likely caused by the hydrothermal treatment during the TIE process, was also detected. This new synthesis method showed the advantage of promoting the introduction of copper nano-species to the mesostructure (isolated Cu species and [Cu.