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.