CuO/CeO2 catalysts prepared with different cerium supports for CO oxidation at low temperature

• CuO/CeO2 catalysts were prepared using polyol and impregnation methods.
• The supports of catalyst were self-prepared cerium oxide and commercial cerium oxide.
• Pyrolysis and deposition precipitation methods were used for cerium preparation.
• Catalytic activity of CuO/CeO2 catalysts were evaluated by the removal of CO.

The activity of a catalyst depends on the nature of its support, its active site, and its preparation method. This study aimed to employ various types of CeO2 supports such as commercial CeO2 and self-prepared CeO2 for the preparation of copper catalysts. The CuO/CeO2 catalysts were prepared using the polyol process and impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray analysis, and their catalytic activity for CO removal was evaluated in a microcatalytic reactor. The experimental results showed that the catalytic activity of the CuO/CeO2 catalysts with different calcination temperatures decreased in the following order: 500 °C > 300 °C > 700 °C. Compared to the impregnation method, the polyol process generated well-dispersed metal particles over the support and showed higher CO removal efficiency with low activation energy. Compared to CuO/CeO2 catalysts with commercial CeO2, those with CeO2 that was self-prepared by pyrolysis had a large pore volume and good crystal structure of CeO2 and showed good performance. The catalytic activity for CO removal was in the following order: CuO/CeO2-P (pyrolysis) > CuO/CeO2-C (commercial) > CuO/CeO2-D (deposition precipitation). CuO/CeO2-P catalysts showed good activity even at low temperature. The CuO/CeO2-P(300)-P-120 min catalyst was found to possess the good CO removal rate when the oxygen content was 6%, CO concentration was 500 ppm, catalyst weighed 1.0 g, pollutant gas velocity was 500 mL min−1, SV was 3.7 × 104 h−1, and reaction temperature was 150 °C.