Tuning Size and Reducibility of Copper Oxide Particles Supported on SBA‐15

Copper citrate was deposited on SBA‐15 at various loadings ranging from 10.9 to 27.1 wt.%. Thermal decomposition resulted in copper oxide particles supported on SBA‐15. In order to study the effect of varying calcination conditions on the resulting particles, precursors were calcined both in a thin powder layer and in a thick powder layer. SBA‐15 and copper oxide particles were characterized using N2 physisorption, XRD, DR‐UV/Vis spectroscopy, and TEM. Depending on layer thickness during calcination, copper oxide particles of various sizes were observed in samples with the same chemical composition. Copper oxide particles were examined by temperature‐programmed reduction. Amorphous copper oxide particles showed a single H2 consumption peak and were reduced to copper at 240 °C. Larger crystalline copper oxide particles showed H2 consumption peaks with a shoulder at higher temperatures and were reduced to copper at 300 °C. Size and reducibility of copper oxide nanoparticles supported on SBA‐15 can be controlled by varying either copper loading or calcination conditions. Model systems with varying copper oxide or copper metal particle sizes and microstructures at similar loadings are suitable for elucidating structure function correlations in heterogeneous catalysis.