Mesoporous CexZr1−xO2 solid solutions supported CuO nanocatalysts for toluene total oxidation

Mesoporous CexZr1−xO2 solid solutions were prepared by the surfactant-assisted method and used as support of CuO nanocatalysts for catalytic total oxidation of toluene. The prepared CuO/CexZr1−xO2 catalysts have a wormhole-like mesoporous structure with high surface area and uniform pore size distribution, and the CuO nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the surface of CexZr1−xO2. The doping of ZrO2 in CeO2 promotes the dispersion of active copper species and enhances the reducibility of copper species. The effect of Ce/Zr ratio, calcination temperature and CuO loading amount on the catalytic performance of CuO/CexZr1−xO2 was investigated in detail. The 400 °C-calcined 8%CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 catalyst exhibits the highest activity with the complete toluene conversion temperature of 275 °C at the condition of GHSH = 33,000 h−1 and the toluene concentration of 4400 ppm. The interfacial interaction between CuO and the CexZr1−xO2 support, highly dispersed CuO nanoparticles and the nature of the support contribute to the high catalytic activity of mesoporous CuO/CexZr1−xO2 nanocatalysts.