Direct synthesis of Cu supported on mesoporous silica: Tailoring the Cu loading and the activity for ethanol dehydrogenation

One-pot methodologies for the synthesis of copper supported in mesoporous silica was developed. Parameters such as pH, time, and temperature of aging interfered in the loading of Cu impregnated. The Cu loadings affected both the textural properties of the silica support and the Cu nanoparticles. As the Cu loading increases, the catalyst showed more reduced Cu nanoparticles with a higher Cu-Cu coordination number (NCu-Cu). The bond length Cu-Cu (RCu-Cu) also correlates linearly with the NCu-Cu and appears to be dependent on the particle size and not affected by electronic parameters. It was possible to identify that the RCu-Cu parameter correlated linearly with the activity per site of Cu. (AU)