Preparation and characterization of CuFe2O4 bulk catalysts

In this work it is demonstrated that the calcination temperature and chemical synthesis affect the crystal properties and cation distribution in the spinel structure, microstructure, surface area and reducibility; which are among the most relevant physical chemical properties for the catalytic activity. The materials obtained by wet chemical procedure, through nitrate and citrate routes, are better suited for propane combustion. This feature is assigned to the microstructure, to the presence of nanometric size particles and also to the cation distributions in the spinel sublattices of these materials.