Silica-Supported Copper (II) Oxide Cluster via Ball Milling Method for Catalytic Combustion of Ethyl Acetate
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
- The steps of BM process (equations on page 13) should be supported with relevant references.
- The material was prepared using normal chemicals, therefore the term “green process” is not appropriate.
- The findings (photocatalytic performance) should be compared with other related materials. A detailed table of comparison should be provided.
- The correlation between structural/morphological findings and adsorption performance should be deeply discussed.
- N2 adsorption isotherms (BET) surface area and pore size distribution should be provided as figure as well.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript describes an interesting strategy to synthesize highly dispersed CuO/SiO2 catalysts and their use for ethyl acetate combustion as model reaction. I appreciate the careful characterization of the synthesized compounds. However, I have some minor concerns before I can recommend the manuscript for publication.
- Post-mortem analysis of used catalysts in EA oxidation. Have the authors checked by appropriate analytical tools if the catalysts morphology and/or composition have changed during catalysis?
- Recyclability of catalysts. The authors should-at least- recycle their best catalyst minimum 3 times in order to prove whether it is stable or not.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This manuscript described the fabrication/characterization of CuO/SiO2 material for the catalytic combustion of ethyl acetate. The synthetic approach/results are interesting and represented nicely in the MS. It can be acceptable for publication after careful revisions following the comments below.
C1. The current title is not that impressive or too wordy that does not highlight the current research. The use of a new conceptual term in the title often works effectively. I would suggest revising the title, for example, “Silica Supported Copper(II)oxide Nanoarchitechtonics for Catalytic Combustion of Ethyl Acetate”
C2. The abstract should be easily readable to find the novelty of the work! Please revise the abstract thoroughly with simple words/English!
[e.g. the first line is too complex and unclear!!]
C3. The last paragraph of the Introduction is quite similar to the abstract!! Please re-write that part by addressing a significant challenge that was solved through this research!
C4. Although muffle furnaces generally run at atmospheric conditions, the condition of calcination should be clearly mentioned for others not to be confused.
C5. Please add simulated XRD patterns of CuOx in Figures 2 and 3 for easy understanding and confirming the crystal phase.
C6. The addition of HAADF analysis would be helpful for understanding the size/shape and distribution, and HRTEM analysis including HRTEM image and SAED patterns could confirm the crystal phase from the respective lattice distance although N2O chemisorption was shown to know the dispersion and active area, etc!
C7. The relative performance of the developed catalysts with the reported catalysts in the studied reaction should be shown to understand the competitiveness of the material.
C8. Simple terminologies are recommended not to abbreviate, for example, ethyl acetate to EA”.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors have addressed most of the comments in the revised version. The current version could be accepted for publication.
