Design Control of Copper-Doped Titania–Zirconia Catalysts for Methanol Decomposition and Total Oxidation of Ethyl Acetate

This study is focused on the design control of Cu–Zr–Ti oxide composites by the variation of the Zr/Ti ratio and the copper deposition procedure used. For the first time, these ternary composites were obtained by a combination of template-assisted hydrothermal techniques for the preparation of mesoporous ZrO2–TiO2 mixed oxides with diverse compositions, followed by the consecutive chemisorption and hydrolysis of copper ammonia complexes on them. The nitrogen physisorption, XRD, SEM, HRTEM, TPR, XPS, UV-Vis, and Raman spectroscopies were applied for the catalysts’ characterization. Methanol decomposition and the total oxidation of ethyl acetate, both of which with potential for sustainable environmental protection, were used as catalytic tests. The complex relationship between the phase composition, structure, and morphology of titania–zirconia mixed oxides and the state and catalytic behavior of the copper oxide species supported on them was investigated. In comparison with the conventional impregnation technique, the novel preparation procedure revealed the generation of more uniform and homogeneously dispersed needle-like copper oxide crystallites in the mesoporous TiO2–ZrO2 host matrix, which typically ensure improved catalytic performance. The synergistic activity between the loaded copper species and TiO2–ZrO2 support was discussed. All ternary composites exhibited superior catalytic activity in total oxidation of ethyl acetate. The specific behavior of the catalysts in methanol decomposition was related to the irreversible phase transformations by the influence of the reaction medium