Abstract:
A series of SiO
2-coated CuFe (SiO
2@CuFe) catalysts with different Cu/Fe molar ratios were prepared by co-reduction and in situ coating method.The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized with XRD, TEM, SEM-EDS, XPS and H
2-TPR techniques and N
2 sorption experiment.It was shown that well-dispersed CuFe nanoparticles were completely coated by mesoporous silica in the as-prepared catalysts.The content of Cu-Fe composite oxide in the catalyst and the selectivity of total alcohols and C
2+ alcohols both exhibit a volcano trend with the decrease of Cu/Fe molar ratios.When the Cu/Fe molar ratio was 1, the largest amount of CuFe
2O
4 was formed, consequently, causing the strongest interaction between Cu and Fe.In addition, the obtained catalyst possessed higher BET surface area and larger BJH pore volume than the other samples.Thus, alcohol products easily diffuse into/out of its pores, thus avoiding the further hydrogenation to hydrocarbons.As a result, it shows the highest selectivity to total alcohols and C
2+ alcohols.