In an effort to combine the favorable catalytic properties of Co3 O4 and CeO2 , nanocomposites with different phase distribution and Co3 O4 loading were prepared and employed for CO oxidation. Synthesizing Co3 O4 -modified CeO2 via three different sol-gel based routes, each with 10.4 wt % Co3 O4 loading, yielded three different nanocomposite morphologies: CeO2 -supported Co3 O4 layers, intermixed oxides, and homogeneously dispersed Co. The reactivity of the resulting surface oxygen species towards CO were examined by temperature programmed reduction (CO-TPR) and flow reactor kinetic tests. The first morphology exhibited the best performance due to its active Co3 O4 surface layer, reducing the light-off temperature of CeO2 by about 200 °C. In contrast, intermixed oxides and Co-doped CeO2 suffered from lower dispersion and organic residues, respectively. The performance of Co3 O4 -CeO2 nanocomposites was optimized by varying the Co3 O4 loading, characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N2 sorption (BET). The 16-65 wt % Co3 O4 -CeO2 catalysts approached the conversion of 1 wt % Pt/CeO2 , rendering them interesting candidates for low-temperature CO oxidation.
Keywords: CO oxidation; catalysis; nanocomposites; solvothermal synthesis.
© 2021 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.