Tailored copper nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous KIT-6 silica: Preparation and application as catalysts in integrated system for NO removal with products of methanol decomposition

• Novel strategy for loading of copper nanoparticles with tunable size in KIT-6.
• Effect of ordered porous structure on the growing and accessibility of copper particles.
• Optimization of catalyst composition for NOx reduction with decomposed methanol.

First time a combined wet impregnation (WI)-organometallics chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) strategy was applied for loading of 3–7 wt.% copper in mesoporous silica KIT-6 matrix nanoparticles with tailored particle size. XRD, HRTEM, nitrogen physisorption, UV–vis, XPS and temperature programmed reduction with hydrogen were used for the samples characterization and comparison with the similar materials obtained by conventional impregnation technique. The catalytic behaviour of all samples was tested in number of ecological reactions, such as methanol decomposition, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by CO and, for the first time, in SCR of NO with a mixture of CO and CH4. The catalyst composition was optimized in a view of its potential application in an integrated catalytic system for the NO removal by SCR with the products of methanol decomposition. The step-wise WI-OMCVD technique is appropriate for the preparation of uniform and finely dispersed copper nanoparticles inside the mesoporous of KIT-6 silica matrix. The growth of copper particles and their catalytic behaviour is strongly controlled by the porous structure of the support.

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