Preparation and Characterization of CuO@SiO۲ Nano-composites at Different Temperatures

The xerogel samples were prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl ortho-silicate (TEOS) by the sol-gel method. In this investigation, a new molar ratio of H۲O/TEOS was determined to be ۱۱.۷. Also, the necessary amounts of tri-hydrated copper nitrate and penta-hydrated copper sulfate were added to the solution in such a manner that the concentration of the copper oxide in final solution reach to ۱۰-۱۲ wt %. After ambient drying, the xerogel samples were heated at ۴۰۰, ۶۰۰, and ۸۰۰˚C at a slow heating rate (۵۰°C/h). The structural properties were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller theory for specific surface area determination (BET) and Thermal Program Reduction (TPR) methods at different temperatures.

Keywords:

Copper oxide , Nano-Composites , Silica Matrix , Temperatures