Ceria Zirconia Mixed Oxides Prepared by Hydrothermal Templating Method for the Oxidation of Ethyl Benzene

CeO2–ZrO2 oxides were prepared by the surfactant-templated method using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as template. These were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, SEM, BET and TPD-CO2. The XRD data showed that as prepared CeO2-ZrO2 powder particles have single phase cubic fluorite structure. HRTEM shows mesoscopic ordering. Average particle size is 12-13 nm as calculated from particle histogram. The nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm was classified to be type IV isotherm, typical of mesoporous material. The presence of uni-modal mesopores are confirmed by the pore size distribution which shows pore distribution at around 60 Å. The catalytic activities of the prepared material were tested in liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. Ceria zirconia catalyst modified with chromium was active for ethylbenzene conversion (65.3%) with 77% selectivity towards acetophenone.