Hierarchically nanoporous Co–Mn–O/FeOx as a high performance catalyst for CO preferential oxidation in H2-rich stream

•Hierarchically porous Co–Mn–O/FeOx composite shows superior catalytic properties.•Full CO removal at 75–200 °C can be obtained over the nonprecious metal catalyst.•The developed catalyst can be a practical candidate for CO preferential oxidation.•Strong interaction of highly-dispersed Co–Mn with Fe results in high activity.•Co–Mn–O dispersity and the interaction are notably affected by support structure.

A novel and highly-efficient hierarchically nanoporous Co–Mn–O/FeOx catalyst fabricated by a hard/soft dual-templating and subsequent deposition–precipitation (HSDT/DP) approach demonstrates unexpectedly high catalytic activity with 100% CO conversion at 75 °C and wide temperature window of 75–200 °C with complete CO removal for CO preferential oxidation (CO PROX), ascribed to the unique microstructure and strong interaction between finely dispersed cobalt–manganese and FeOx. The excellent catalytic performance allows it to be a practical candidate for CO elimination from H2-rich stream.

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