Manufacture of a nanostructured CeOx/carbon catalyst for n-butanol conversion

•Biotechnological fabrication of cerium-active carbon hybrid catalysts.•Application of S. viminalis as a plant tolerating high concentration of metal ions.•Metal ion transport in living plants provides high dispersion of catalytic phase.•Formation of nano-crystallites of cerium oxides in the carbon matrix.•High catalytic activity caused by high dispersion catalytic phase.

Hybrid cerium oxide/active carbon catalysts were manufactured by the means of a biotechnological approach. Cerium ion-saturated stems of Salix viminalis were carbonised at 600–800 °C. A microporous carbon matrix was created from the organic matter in which nanoparticles of cerium oxides were uniformly distributed. The growth of cerium oxide domains occurred during the formation of the carbon matrix as a result of the thermal transformation of cerium ions. The natural transport of ions in living plant tissues helped to achieve the proper distribution of cerium ions in cells. The hybrid materials were tested as catalysts for the conversion of n-butanol to a mixture of heptanone-4, butane, butyraldehyde and some byproducts. Despite the low content of cerium (below 1% atomic content), the hybrid catalysts exhibited high selectivity and yield towards specific products.