Thiol-assisted aerosol synthesis of mesoporous Cu–SiO2 catalysts for effective and stable ethanol dehydrogenation
(2026) Journal of Materials Chemistry A — Vol. 14, n° 28, p. 18055-18063 (2026)
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Details
- Authors
Colinet, Marc Antoine 
- Abstract
- Supported copper nanoparticles play a fundamental role in heterogeneous sustainable catalysis, particularly for the conversion of biomass-derived feedstocks (such as bioethanol) to platform chemicals. However, controlling their fine dispersion and, at the same time, their resistance to sintering remains a challenge, especially when using silica supports. We report a simple one-pot aerosol route to produce mesoporous Cu–SiO2 catalysts featuring small copper nanoparticles (2–4 nm) partially embedded in the silica matrix. To achieve this, we exploit the affinity between the copper and the thiol function of a mercapto-silane: (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS). As supported by characterization (in particular XRD, XPS, TEM, TPR, UV-VIS, and dispersion measurements) the addition of this molecule during synthesis markedly enhanced Cu dispersion in the calcined catalyst. This is shown to translate into enhanced time-on-stream stability during the ethanol non oxidative dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde. The catalyst obtained via thiol-assisted stabilization of copper demonstrates a sustained acetaldehyde productivity of 2.88 gaca gcat−1 h−1 during 23 h test time at 623 K.
- Affiliations
Citations
Pampararo, G., Colinet, M. A., Devred, F., & Debecker, D. (2026). Thiol-assisted aerosol synthesis of mesoporous Cu–SiO2 catalysts for effective and stable ethanol dehydrogenation. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 14(28), 18055-18063. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ta10234k (Original work published 2026)