Fig. 3.

Creating Cu–O–SiO_x interfaces on Cu nanoparticles. a Scheme for the synthesis of Cu@m-SiO₂; b, c TEM images of as-prepared Cu₂O nanoparticles and Cu₂O@m-SiO₂, respectively. d–g EDX mapping images of Cu₂O@m-SiO₂; h X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) pattern of Cu NPs, Cu₂O@m-SiO₂ and Cu@m-SiO₂; i Catalytic performance of Cu NPs and Cu@m-SiO₂ for the selective hydrogenation of DMO; Reaction conditions were as follows: H₂/DMO = 80 mol/mol, P (H₂) = 3.0 MPa, T = 200 °C, LHSV = 2.4 h⁻¹. Scale bars in b (left) and c (left) are 200 nm. Scale bars in b (right) and c (right) are 20 nm. Scale bar in d is 50 nm