Abstract
Catalytic systems designated for preferential oxidation of CO in the presence of H2 are prepared by ball milling of Cu and CeO2, a simple and cheap one-step process to synthesize such catalysts. It is found that after 60 min of milling, a mixture of 8 wt.% Cu–CeO2 powders exhibits CO conversion of 96% and CO selectivity of about 65% at 438 K. Two active oxygen states, which are not observed in case of pure CeO2, were detected in the nanocomposite lattice and attributed to the presence of Cu in surface sites as well as in subsurface bulk sites. Correspondingly, oxidation of CO to CO2 was found to occur in a two-stage process with T max ≈ 395/460 K, and oxidation of H2 to H2O likewise in a two-stage process with T max ≈ 465/490 K. The milled powder consists of CeO2 crystallites sized 8–10 nm agglomerated to somewhat larger aggregates, with Cu dispersed on the surface of the CeO2 crystallites, and to a lesser extent present as Cu2O.
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Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Projects № 16-03-00178 and 16-03-00330, program P-16 of Presidium of RAS, Government of the Russian Federation (act 211 and agreement № 02.A03.21.0006). The XPS measurements were supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (Project RFMEFI 58714X0002). The Alexander von Humboldt foundation is gratefully acknowledged for funding of this work.
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Borchers, C., Martin, M.L., Vorobjeva, G.A. et al. Cu–CeO2 nanocomposites: mechanochemical synthesis, physico-chemical properties, CO-PROX activity. J Nanopart Res 18, 344 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3640-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3640-6