Reduction and catalytic behaviour of heterobimetallic copper–lanthanide oxides

The reduction of the heterobimetallic copper–lanthanide oxides 2CuO·CeO2 and 3CuO·Ln2CuO4 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd) was studied by H2-TG/DTA and H2-TPR. All systems exhibit two main reduction steps accompanied by mass losses in the temperature range 20–1000 °C. The first step was attributed to CuO reduction, whereas the second step is due either to copper reduction in the Ln2CuO4 phase with the concomitant formation of Ln2O3 or to the surface reduction of CeO2. The products were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, and BET techniques and are better described as supported copper type materials. They were active for the mesityl oxide (4-methyl-2-penten-2-one) gas phase hydrogenation.