Activity and characterization of a Ce–W–Ti oxide catalyst prepared by a single step sol–gel method for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3

•The CeO2–WO3/TiO2 catalyst showed the excellent activity at 275–500 °C in the GHSV of 90,000 h−1.•The higher tolerance to 10% H2O and 500 ppm SO2 was obtained.•The reasons contributing to its excellent deNOx performance were proposed.

A Ce–W–Ti mixed oxide catalyst prepared by a single step sol–gel method exhibited excellent SCR activity and high resistance to H2O and SO2. The excellent catalytic performance might be attributed to the improved dispersion of Ce species on TiO2, the increase in the amount of Ce3+ and chemisorbed oxygen and the strong interaction among ceria, tungsten and titania owing to the addition of WO3.