Silica aerogel-supported copper catalyst prepared via ambient pressure drying process

Copper–silica aerogel catalyst was synthesized through the impregnation of silica alcogels by copper precursor and ambient pressure drying of the impregnated alcogels. In this safer and lower energy consumption drying mode for maintaining the gel structure, the solvent exchange and chemical surface modification were done before the drying step. The prepared Cu/SiO₂ aerogels were characterized by AAS, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, FTIR, BET and BJH techniques. Characterizations showed the complete surface modification, the presence of CuO nanocrystals, the relatively uniform dispersion of copper, the catalysts consisted of the nanoparticles, the homogeneous surface morphology, the large surface area (511–652 m²/g) and the high pore volume (~2.7 cm³ g) and mesoporosity which are the attractive properties of aerogels as catalyst. Also, the activity and selectivity of aerogel catalysts were studied in the hydrogen production process through methanol steam reforming reaction which showed good results.