DECOMPOSITION OF 1-OCTANOL ON THE SPINEL SYSTEM GA1-XFEXCUMNO4

The Ga1-xFexCuMnO4 system has been studied for the decomposition of 1-octanol. All the catalysts exhibited cubic symmetry and p-type semiconductivity. The activation energy for electronic conduction varied between 0.35 and 0.135 eV. The Seebeck coefficient (alpha) was found to decrease with increase in x. All the catalysts (except x = 0.0) showed ferrimagnetic behaviour. The percent decomposition of alcohol increased with increase in lattice constant, Curie temperature and concentration of Fe (III) ions at the A-site, while showing a decreasing trend with increase in coercivity of the ferrites. Further, dehydrogenation selectivity decreased with decrease in p-type behaviour. Though the Mossbauer spectrum of the used catalyst (CuMnFeO4) showed some change in the occupation of Fe3+ ions at tetrahedral and octahedral sites, no bulk reduction of the catalyst was observed and the spinel structure was essentially retained.