Controlling the Catalytic Properties of Copper-Containing Oxide Catalysts

The results of a systematic study of the formation of Cu–Zn, Cu–Zn–Al, Cu–Zn–Cr, Cu–Zn–Si, Cu–Cr, and Cu–Si oxide catalysts with a widely varied ratio between their components are generalized within the chemical approach developed by G.K. Boreskov to establish the quantitative relation between their chemical composition and catalytic activity. Simultaneously, their catalytic properties, such as selectivity and activity, are measured under the same conditions in the methanol synthesis and dehydrogenation and water gas shift reactions, whose common feature is a reductive reaction medium. The activity of Cu–Zn–Al–Cr— Si-oxide catalysts in all the studied reactions is governed by the Cu0 nanoparticles formed on their surface in the process of reductive activation. Nanoparticles of different catalysts have similar sizes (3–8 nm). However, the ratios between the catalytic activities per unit of the copper surface area for catalysts with various structures of their oxide support (spinel, wurtzite, zincsilite, or silica type) are appreciably different in each reaction. The relation between the chemical composition of a catalyst and its catalytic activity in a certain reaction is established by the chemical composition of its precursor representing a hydroxo compound, i.e., the nature of the selected cations and the quantitative ratio between them. The decomposition of hydroxo compounds to oxides (and the further activation of oxides) should be performed at medium temperatures, providing the incomplete elimination of ОН– and CO32- anions, i.e., the formation of anion-modified oxides. The structure of the latter and the type of interaction between Cu0 nanoparticles and an oxide support are governed by the structure of the hydroxo precursor compound.