ESCA characterization of copper/alumina catalysts prepared by deposition — precipitation using urea hydrolysis

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used for the characterization of Cu/Al2O3 catalysts used for the dehydrogenation of ethanol and also for carbon monoxide adsorption studies. Various oxidation states of copper in oxidic and hydrogen-reduced catalysts have been identified using Cu(2p32) photoelectron and Cu(LMM) Auger transitions. The Cu(2p3/2)/Al(2p) intensity ratio from XPS data can be correlated with the copper surface area, CO adsorption capacity and reaction rate of the catalyst.