The oxidation of carbon monoxide over the palladium nanocube catalysts: Effect of the basic-property of the support

• Supported Pd catalysts were prepared with Pd nanocubes as the active phase.
• More CO molecules with strong stability were adsorbed on the Pd/MgO catalyst.
• The strong basicity of MgO granted the Pd/MgO good performance for CO oxidation.

The nanocatalysts of Pd nanocubes supported on SiO2, TiO2 and MgO were prepared and the CO oxidation activities over the three catalysts were evaluated. The acid–basic properties of the support materials were determined using the temperature-programmed desorptions of NH3 (NH3-TPD) and CO2 (CO2-TPD). The CO adsorptions over the three catalysts were investigated by the diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT). It was found that the Pd/MgO catalyst showed the strongest ability to adsorb CO molecules and performed best for CO oxidation.