Catalytic wet air oxidation of 2-chlorophenol over Ru loaded CexZr1−xO2 solid solutions

A series of CexZr1−xO2 mixed-oxide-supported Ru catalysts were unprecedentedly evaluated in the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) solutions (2 g L−1). They were shown to exhibit higher performances than the corresponding CeO2 or ZrO2-supported catalysts. The ceria–zirconia solid solution structure appeared to be crucial for the higher activity of the 3 wt.% Ru/CexZr1−xO2 catalysts. After introduction of praseodymium or neodymium in the CexZr1−xO2 lattice, the activity of the 3 wt.% Ru/CexZr1−xO2 catalysts was further improved. Pr was shown to have a greater effect than Nd, especially at low Pr concentration. Further investigations indicated that CexZr1−xO2 solid solutions loaded Ru catalysts could maintain outstanding catalytic performances even at low temperature (393 K) and low pressure (3 MPa).