Carbon template removal by dielectric-barrier discharge plasma for the preparation of zirconia

A novel ‘micro-combustion’, initiated by active oxygen species within dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), has been developed and employed for the removal of a carbon exotemplate for the fabrication of zirconia (ZrO2). The micro-combustion is operated at atmospheric pressure and relatively low gas temperature (less than 150 °C) with a high template removal rate. The material characterization shows that mesoporous ZrO2 with a broad pore size distribution between 3 and 40 nm has been produced. The obtained ZrO2 exhibits a monoclinic lattice structure, normally generated at temperatures over 1000 °C. The DBD made ZrO2 has been applied as the support for the preparation of Pd/ZrO2 catalyst, which shows a high activity for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol.