1. Metal salt dissolved in solvent
Catalytically active low density porous copper (II) monoliths
Louisa J. Hope-Weeks, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University
Epoxide
Metal salt dissolved in solvent
sol
gel
Gelation
Ageing (~3 days)
Aged gel and washed/solvent exchange
Supercritical drying (CO2)
Xerogel
Aerogel
Ambient
drying
Ambigel
Noble metals catalysts are often expensive; therefore finding a highly active, cost effective alternative would have significant industrial impact. To this end copper oxide based systems have been widely investigated and have shown high selectivity and activity in oxidation/reduction reactions at temperatures above 200oC. The copper oxide is most commonly impregnated on a support material, which often results in diminished catalytic activity due to adverse reactions of the copper with the support material. Highly porous copper (II) aerogel monoliths have the potential to be used as the next generation heterogeneous catalysts and exhibit enhanced activity and selectivity for a variety of oxidation/reduction reactions. The nature of a self-supported copper (II) aerogel is such that it will improve the catalytic activity and overcome the problems currently encountered with the supported copper oxides. Initial work is focused on understanding factors which control the morphology and stability of the copper (II) aerogels. Experiments are currently ongoing to control and understand the phase changes observed in the materials at elevated temperatures since this will ultimately influence the catalytic activity of the materials.
Cu-Ni Composite aerogels 1