Promotional Effects of Heat Treatments on Pt–CeO2 Nanocatalyst Derived via Hydrothermal Leaching for CO Oxidation

Emerging global carbon monoxide (CO) emissions directly affect global warming and modify atmospheric chemistry. The entreaty for benchmark heterogeneous oxidation of CO into CO₂ is a substantial and efficient strategy to reduce CO. Heterogeneous oxidation is popular because it accelerates chemical reactions. In this work, the rational framework for synthesizing a nanocatalyst Pt–CeO₂ by hydrothermal leaching of AlCe-Pt_x intermetallic compound and subjecting it to heat treatments in a H₂/N₂ atmosphere. After hydrothermal leaching, the contact between the active sites and the Pt–CeO₂ nanocatalyst contributes to enhanced catalytic performance on CO conversion. Further, various spectroscopic and microscopic methods analyzed the prepared material’s structural and microstructure characteristics. The inclusion of noble Pt metal alters the surface properties of the nanocatalyst. The enhanced catalytic activity due to their higher thermal stability, chemical strength, metal–support interaction, and well-defined structures have a noticeable effect on the catalytic process. These factors caused high surface area and less crystallite size, achieving 100% CO conversion at low temperatures. Hence, the obtained outcomes bear substantial practical relevance to the developing perspectives of energy-storage applications.