A novel active Ca-Co dually-doping pyrochlore oxide La2−xCaxSn2−yCoyO₇ catalyst was synthesized by the sol-gel method for catalytic oxidation of soot particulates. The microstructure, atomic valence, reduction, and adsorption performance were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H₂-TPR (temperature-programmed reduction), and in situ diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transformed (DRIFTS) techniques. Temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) tests were performed with the mixture of soot-catalyst under tight contact conditions to evaluate the catalytic activity for soot combustion. Synergetic effect between Ca and Co improved the structure and redox properties of the solids, increased the surface oxygen vacancies, and provided a suitable electropositivity for oxide, directly resulting in the decreased ignition temperature for catalyzed soot oxidation as low as 317 °C. The presence of NO in O₂ further promoted soot oxidation over the catalysts with the ignition temperature decreased to about 300 °C. The DRIFTS results reveal that decomposition of less stable surface nitrites may account for NO₂ formation in the ignition period of soot combustion, which thus participate in the auxiliary combustion process.
Keywords: catalytic oxidation; oxygen vacancy; pyrochlore; soot removal.