Preparation, characterization and catalytic behavior of nanostructured mesoporous CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation

High-surface area mesoporous CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 catalysts were prepared by a surfactant-assisted method of nanocrystalline particle assembly, and characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption, TEM, H2-TPR, TG-DTA and XPS techniques. The catalytic properties of the CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 nanocatalysts were evaluated by low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation using a microreactor-GC system. XRD and TEM analysis indicated that the catalyst particles were nanoscaled with cubic, fluorite structure. N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms revealed a mesoporous nanocatalyst system with high-surface area and uniform pore-size distribution. The results of catalytic activity measurements showed that these mesoporous nanostructured CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 catalysts were very active for low-temperature CO oxidation. The catalytic behavior depended on the CuO loading amount, the calcination temperature, the surface area and the particle size of the catalyst. The catalyst with 25 mol% CuO loading and calcined at 400 °C exhibited the highest catalytic activity.