Preparation and catalytic performance of cylinder- and cake-like Cr2O3 for toluene combustion

•Cylinder- and cake-like Cr2O3 are prepared via hydrothermal and microemulsion routes, respectively.•The cake-like Cr2O3 catalyst is porous in morphology.•The porous cake-like Cr2O3 catalyst performs the best in toluene combustion.•Catalytic activity is governed by porous structure, Oads, and reducibility of cake-like Cr2O3.

Cylinder- and cake-like Cr2O3 with a rhombohedral structure were fabricated using the hydrothermal and microemulsion methods, respectively. It is found that surface areas, surface Cr6 + and oxygen adspecies concentrations, and low-temperature reducibility of cake-like Cr2O3 were much higher or better than those of the bulk counterpart. The cake-like Cr2O3 sample showed the best catalytic performance for toluene combustion, giving the T50% and T90% of 229 and 240 °C at SV = 20,000 mL/(g h), respectively. The excellent catalytic performance of cake-like Cr2O3 was associated with its oxygen adspecies concentration and good low-temperature reducibility.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide