This work analyzes
the chemical sorptions of carbon oxides (CO2 and CO) on
lithium cuprate (Li2CuO2), with copper(II) ion
substitution for 5 mol % of nickel(II), iron(III),
or manganese(IV) ions into the crystalline structure. Li2CuO2 has good characteristics for CO2 capture and subsequent
CO oxidation capture, but partial metal substitution modified its
reactivity as a bifunctional material. Pristine and metal-substituted
Li2CuO2 samples were obtained via a solid-state
reaction, and they were characterized structurally and microstructurally.
Then, the carbon oxide capture capacities were evaluated. Under a
saturated CO2 atmosphere, 5Ni-Li2CuO2 solid solution exhibits the best chemisorption at 700 °C. Nevertheless,
using CO (P
CO = 0.04) in the absence of
oxygen, 5Mn-Li2CuO2 solid solution presented
greater CO oxidation efficiency, owing to its structural contributions
such as the facility to change the oxidation state to release oxygen
(copper reduction) and the content of vacancies favoring catalytic
CO oxidation. When oxygen (P
O2
= 0.04) was added, all solid solutions presented higher weight increments
than the pristine Li2CuO2 sample, as the reduction
in the crystal structures was avoided due to the Mars-van Krevelen
mechanism, where ceramics acted as catalysts at moderate temperature
and carbon oxide captors at higher temperatures, establishing them
as bifunctional materials. The CO2, CO2–O2, CO2–CO, and CO2–CO–O2 (P
P = 0.04 for each gas) isotherms
at 700 °C allowed the visualization of gas mixture effects. In
general, the isotherms showed the greatest weight increments in the
presence of O2. Although the copper ions have shown catalytic
activity, the presence of Ni(II), Fe(III), and Mn(IV) in Li2CuO2 improved its catalytic properties. Nickel ions contributed
to homolytic oxygen dissociation for carbonation, whilst the vacancies
generated by Fe and Mn ions contributed to the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism.
Also, Mn4+ has a greater capacity to change its oxidation
state in comparison to the other evaluated cations.