CuO catalysts supported on activated red mud for efficient catalytic carbon monoxide oxidation

• Red mud was activated and employed as the support for efficient CuO catalyst system.
• High activity was obtained for CO oxidation on the resultant CuO/activated red mud catalysts.
• The catalyst calcined at 200 °C with 20% CuO loading amount possessed the highest catalytic activity.
• The CuO content and precalcination temperatures had significant impacts on the catalytic properties.

Red mud was activated by digestion in hydrochloric acid and re-precipitation with ammonia, and the activated red mud (ARM) was used as the support for preparation of CuO/ARM catalysts by a simple deposition–precipitation method. The prepared catalysts possessed well-structured porosity and high surface area, as characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, H2-temperature-programmed reduction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen sorption techniques. High activity was observed for CO oxidation on the resultant CuO/ARM catalysts, and the CuO content and precalcination temperature had significant impacts on the catalytic properties. The catalyst calcined at 200 °C with 20% CuO loading amount demonstrated the highest catalytic activity, suggesting the CuO/ARM as a promising catalyst in the CO oxidation reaction, on the sake of the utilization of waste solids with much low cost of ARM.