EPR Study of Dealuminated HY Zeolite and Silica Containing Cu-Mn-Zn Spinels: The Effect of Support

A mixture of antiferromagnetic Cu_{1.4}Mn_{1.6}O₄ and Cu_{0.5}Zn_{0.5}Mn₂O₄ or/and ZnMn₂O₄ spinels was prepared. Dealuminated HY zeolite and silica were doped by these Cu-Mn-Zn spinels. The materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and EPR spectroscopy. Additionally, all the samples were tested for their activity for isopropyl alcohol dehydration/dehydrogenation. Three EPR signals were observed for Cu-Mn-Zn/dealuminated HY and Cu-Mn-Zn/SiO₂ samples at 293 K. In contrast to the spectra recorded at 293 K, only one broad line attributed to Cu-Mn-Zn spinels was visible at 77 K. The EPR signal from pure Cu-Mn-Zn spinels consists only of a single broad line when recorded at 293 K, whereas at 77 K the line is narrower. For all samples subjected to evacuation at high vacuum up to 573 K, the Cu-Mn-Zn spinels were stable. The evacuation at 673 K resulted in a rapid lowering of the intensity of EPR spectrum.