Characterization and Catalytic Behavior of CuO@SiO2 Nano-Catalysts towards N-Containing Species Reactions in Gas-Phase

One distinct concentration of copper was embedded into the silica matrix to xerogel form using copper source Cu(NO3)2·3H2O. The xerogel samples were prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl ortho-silicate (TEOS) by the sol-gel method. In this investigation, new molar ratio of H2O/TEOS was determined to be 11.7. Also, the necessary amount of tri-hydrated copper nitrate was added to the solution in such a manner that the concentration of the copper oxide in final solution reach to 10 wt %. After ambient drying, the xerogel samples were heated at 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000°C at a slow heating rate (50°C/h). The structural properties were characterized by Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Surface Analysis (BET) and Thermal Program Reduction (TPR) methods at different temperatures. Finally, catalytic behavior of nano-composites was studied for di-nitrogen oxide decomposition (N2O) reactions. The results were presented the systematic reactivity study of NO oxidation and N2O decomposition on dispersed copper oxide nano-catalysts over silica supports, in order to determine the ability of these materials to convert nitrogen oxide and di-nitrogen oxide into harmless species at different temperatures