Influence of nature of precursors on the formation and structure of Cu–Ni–Cr mixed oxides from layered double hydroxides

Analogous layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with the Cu2+/Ni2+/Cr3+ molar ratio of 1/2/1 on the brucite-like layers and interlayer anions (viz sulfate, nitrate and carbonate, respectively) were synthesized by a coprecipitation method. For the first time, the effects of interlayer anions on the structural properties of as-synthesized LDHs and resulting calcined products at 773 K were investigated by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The results indicate that the nature of interlayer anions involved within the hydrotalcite (HT)-like structure has a larger influence on the thermal stability of LDHs precursors. Calcination of well-crystallized LDHs leads to the formation of mixed metal oxides including CuO, NiO and Cu2+-, Ni2+- and Cr3+-containing spinel phases, the composition distributions of which obtained from LDHs precursors depend on the nature of interlayer anions, thus resulting in the difference of the reducibility of reducible metal species in the calcined LDHs. Moreover, the surface basicity of the calcined material, which is related to the different behaviour of LDHs precursors during the thermal decomposition depending on the interlayer anions, increases progressively following the order of calcined LDHs from sulfate to nitrate and carbonate.