Influence of Calcination Conditions on Structural and Solid-State Kinetic Properties of Iron Oxidic Species Supported...

Iron oxidic species supported on silica SBA-15 were synthesized with various iron loadings using two different Fe^III precursors. The effect of varying powder layer thickness during calcination on structural and solid-state kinetic properties of Fe_xO_y/SBA-15 samples was investigated. Calcination was conducted in thin (0.3 cm) or thick (1.3 cm) powder layer. Structural characterization of resulting Fe_xO_y/SBA-15 samples was performed by nitrogen physisorption, X-ray diffraction, and DR-UV/Vis spectroscopy. Thick powder layer during calcination induced an increased species size independent of the precursor. However, a significantly more pronounced influence of calcination mode on species size was observed for the Fe^III nitrate precursor compared to the Fe^III citrate precursor. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) experiments revealed distinct differences in reducibility and reduction mechanism dependent on calcination mode. Thick layer calcination of the samples obtained from Fe^III nitrate precursor resulted in more pronounced changes in TPR profiles compared to samples obtained from Fe^III citrate precursor. TPR traces were analyzed by model-dependent Coats-Redfern method and model-independent Kissinger method. Differences in solid-state kinetic properties of Fe_xO_y/SBA-15 samples dependent on powder layer thickness during calcination correlated with differences in iron oxidic species size.