The influence of the synthesis route and microwave activation on the CuFe2O4 spinel mixed oxide catalysts activity in N2O decomposition

Abstract

In this study a comprehensive analysis of the influence of synthesis route of CuFe2O4 spinel mixed oxides on their catalytic performance in the N2O decomposition was carried out. A co-precipitation technique allowed one to obtain the CuFe2O4 spinel with a higher specific surface area and pore volume compared to the synthesis with the application of organic additives. This resulted in better catalytic performance of the CuFe2O4 samples prepared by co-precipitation. The microwave activation step with the duration of 1 min during the co-precipitation synthesis led to the formation of the CuFe2O4 spinel with a higher content of oxygen vacancies per 1 m2 in comparison with the sample obtained without the microwave activation. This fact caused a significantly higher specific activity of the CuFe2O4 spinel synthesized with the application of 1 min microwave activation. The increase of the microwave treatment time led to the fast growth of the contents of the CuO and α-Fe2O3 phases, which are less active in the N2O decomposition, resulting in the activity drop.