Synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous CeO2 and low temperature CO oxidation over Pd/mesoporous CeO2

Abstract

Highly ordered mesoporous cerium dioxide (meso-CeO2) was successfully synthesized using a facile solvent-free infiltration method from a mesoporous silica template, KIT-6. The meso-CeO2 material, thus obtained, exhibited well-defined mesostructure and high surface area (153 m(2) g(-1)). The physicochemical properties of meso-CeO2 material and Pd-supported on meso-CeO2 (Pd/meso-CeO2) were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N-2 adsorption-desorption, and temperature-programmed experiments. The Pd/meso-CeO2 catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity for CO oxidation compared with those of other Pd/CeO2 catalysts which were prepared using nanocrystalline CeO2 and bulk-CeO2 as the supports. Moreover, a hydrogen pretreatment of the Pd/meso-CeO2 catalyst resulted in a remarkable increase of catalytic activity (T (100) = 52 A degrees C).