Synthesis of ordered mesoporous CuO/CeO2 composite via co-nanocasting replication method and its improved reactivity towards hydrogen

Ordered mesoporous CuO/CeO2 composites with cubic Ia3d or 2-D hexagonal p6mm structure have been synthesized by a co-nanocasting-replication method using mesoporous silica KIT-6 or SBA-15 as hard template. XRD, TEM, N2-adsorption and H2-TPR techniques were used for the structural analysis and catalytic activity characterization. The results indicated that the high surface area mesoporous CuO/CeO2 composites with different amounts of CuO addition were well-crystallized and exhibited much improved reactivity towards hydrogen than pure mesoporous CeO2, and the CuO/CeO2 composite with 20 wt.% CuO addition possessed the highest reactivity towards hydrogen. The enhanced H2-TPR property could be attributed to the synergetic catalytic effects between copper oxide and cerium oxide.