Preparation and Characterization of Mixed-Oxide Catalyst

Solid heterogeneous CuO-MoO3/ZrO2 catalyst was prepared by impregnation using suitable precursor materials supported over zirconia. Upon calcination at 450°C for 2 hours, available techniques were employed for the characterization. The available oxides and minerals in the catalyst were revealed by the XRF and XRD profiles respectively. The catalyst crystallite size (131.6nm) was obtained using the Bragg’s equation from the latter. Thermal analysis showed three weight loss stages between (49.25-152.06°C), (152.06-559.47°C) and (559.47-752.0°C) while presence of sulphate and zirconia oxides was revealed by the FTIR analysis due to appearance of absorption bands around 1225-980cm-1 and 700-600 cm-1 respectively.