Synthesis and Application of Double-Shelled CuCo2O4 Hollow Sphere Catalyst for Chemical Fixation of CO2

Design of complex hollow microspheres with double-layered constructions of spinel metal oxides appears to be remarkable in order to supply the need for innovative catalysts. In this study, a CuCo2O4 hollow sphere catalyst was developed for the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to epoxides. Different operating conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction pressure, reaction time, catalyst weight percentage, and various co-catalysts and epoxides are studied in this reaction. Consequently, the optimized operating conditions are achieved including 80 degrees C, 5 bar, the catalyst weight percentage of 3.2 and 3 h reaction time with the production yield of about 96% for the produced carbonate. The reaction rate was studied to analyze the performance of synthesized catalysts using the activation energies and reaction rate constants along with thermodynamic parameters. The attained double-shell hollow sphere Cu-Co spinel structure revealed remarkable activity and superior production performance as the catalyst for the fixation of carbon dioxide with epoxide. [GRAPHICS] .