Surfactant-aided hydrothermal preparation of La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystallites and their catalytic performance on methane combustion

Perovskite-like oxide La2-xSrxCuO4 (x = 0, 1) single crystallites with microrod-like morphologies and tetragonal crystal structures were prepared hydrothermally at 240°C with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant and after calcination at 850°C. The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of XRD, BET, SEM, TEM/SAED (selected-area electron diffraction), XPS and H2-TPR techniques. It is found that doping Sr2+ to La2CuO4 lattice enhanced the catalytic activity for methane combustion and the LaSrCuO4 catalyst derived from PEG is the best among the tested ones. It is concluded that factors, such as adsorbed oxygen species concentration, reducibility and surface area, determined the catalytic performance of such single-crystalline materials.