Preparation and characterization of CuFe2O4 bulk catalysts

This work is devoted to the investigation of the influence of the preparation process on the physical–chemical properties of a copper spinel applied as catalyst for hydrocarbon (HC) oxidation. Samples of CuFe2O4 mixed oxide belonging to the inverted spinel type structure have been obtained by high temperature solid state reaction and by wet chemical synthesis methods, applying nitrate and citrate precursor procedures, within the thermal range from 150 to 700 °C. The bulk catalysts were characterized by XRD, TPR, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TEM and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Propane combustion was performed as a reaction test. In this work it is demonstrated that the calcination temperature and chemical synthesis affect the crystal properties and cation distribution in the spinel structure, microstructure, surface area and reducibility; which are among the most relevant physical chemical properties for the catalytic activity. The materials obtained by wet chemical procedure, through nitrate and citrate routes, are better suited for propane combustion. This feature is assigned to the microstructure, to the presence of nanometric size particles and also to the cation distributions in the spinel sublattices of these materials.