Photodeposition of Au nanocatalysts onto CuCrO₂ powders

Abstract

In this research, Au nanocatalysts were deposited on CuCrO₂ powders using photodeposition to investigate the catalytic activity. Delafossite-type CuCrO₂ porous powders were prepared using a glycine nitrate process. Au nanoparticles were photodeposited onto the CuCrO₂ surface by irradiating light into pH adjusted HAuCl₄ solution. The crystal structure, composition, and micromorphology of the derived Au/CuCrO₂ powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. TEM observation determined that the diameters of the Au nanoparticles photodeposited on CuCrO₂ powder with UV irradiation at pH = 10 were approximately 4 nm. The differential scanning calorimetric measurement indicated that Au/CuCrO₂ has a catalytic activity of carbon monoxide conversion.