Preparation of bimodal mesoporous CoCe composite oxide for ethanol complete oxidation in air

Abstract The CeO2 and CeCoO composite oxide catalysts with bimodal mesopore structures were prepared by hard-template method and used for ethanol complete oxidation in air. The physicochemicalphysicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, and O2-TPD. The Co species can be dissolved into CeO2 lattice to form Ce–O–Co solid solution, which promotes reactive oxygen species to be formed on the prepared CeCoO oxide catalysts surface. The bimodal mesopore structures can be obtained by the used hard-template method, and the pore structures of the prepared CeCoO oxide catalysts can be affected by the introduction of Co species. The synergistic effects from bimodal mesopore structures and reactive oxygen species can effectively boost ethanol complete oxidation to final product CO2. The CeCo2 catalyst with Ce/Co mole ratio of 2.0 exhibites superior ethanol complete oxidation activity and service stability, the ethanol oxidation conversion and final oxidation product CO2 selectivity reached 99.8 % and 99.2 % at 200 °C, respectively. This work indicates that the bimodal mesoporous CeCoO solid solution composite oxide catalyst is a promising candidate for OVOCs oxidation elimination from air.