Catalytic oxidation of toluene and p-xylene using gold supported on Co3O4 catalyst prepared by colloidal precipitation method

Gold supported on cobalt oxide has been successfully synthesized through a colloidal precipitation method and tested in toluene and p-xylene total oxidation. It has been demonstrated that the catalytic activity of Au/Co3O4 for toluene and p-xylene oxidation is much higher than that of Au/Al2O3 and Au/MgO in spite of its lower BET surface area and larger gold crystalline size. The enhanced catalytic activity in toluene and p-xylene oxidation has been linked to a high concentration of superficial electrophilic oxygen species and oxygen vacancies, which may be originated from a strong interaction in the colloidal Au–Co3O4 system.

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► Au/Co3O4 has been successfully prepared by means of a colloidal precipitation method.
► Au/Co3O4 exhibits higher activity than Au/Al2O3 or Au/MgO in toluene and p-xylene total oxidation.
► The enhanced activity may be due to the strong metal-oxide interaction between Au and Co3O4.
► This effect causes abundant electrophilic oxygen species and oxygen vacancies on the surface.