Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis
was measured in a JEOL JEM 1200 ExII 120 kV operating at
80 kV. SEM measurements were recorded in a JEOL JSM 5800 at
20 kV equipped with an EDS detector. X-ray powder diffraction
(XRD) experiments were conducted on a D/max-3B diffractometer
with Cu K radiation. The scans were made in the 2 range
0–6◦ with a scan rate of 0.5◦/min (low angle diffraction), and in
the 2 range 20–70◦ with a scan rate of 10◦/min (wide angle
diffraction). The surface area of the supported metal catalyst was
measured using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method (N2
adsorption) with a Gemini apparatus (Micromeritics 2010 Instrument
Corporation).