Catalytic reduction of NO by CO over copper-oxide supported mesoporous silica

Copper oxide supported on four different types of mesoporous silica (SBA-15, MCM-41, MCM-48 and KIT-6) were prepared and examined for catalytic reduction of NO with CO in the temperature range of 250–500 °C. Their structural and chemical properties were characterized by N2 adsorption, low angle and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FTIR and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). H2-TPR revealed that MCM-41 and SBA-15 tend to possess a higher quantity of reducible copper species in contrast to MCM-48 and KIT-6. CuO supported on MCM-41 and SBA-15 exhibited higher activity in catalytic reduction of NO than CuO supported on MCM-48 and KIT-6. The superior catalytic activity was attributed to homogeneous dispersion of CuO and availability of the reducible copper ions in the channels of mesoporous materials.

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► Structure directed CuO catalyst loading on mesoporous silica based support.
► Silica support with 3D pore structure type facilitates higher reactant adsorption.
► Higher catalyst–support interactions within 2D pore structure favor CuO activity.