Influence of the hydrothermal treatment temperature on the properties of mixed ceria-zirconia catalysts for ethyl acetate combustion

摘要: A series of nanosized ceria-zirconia mixed oxides were prepared by an original procedure using template-assisted precipitation with urea followed by a hydrothermal treatment step at two different temperatures (373 K or 413 K). The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, UV-Vis spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) with hydrogen and their potential application in catalysis was tested in ethyl acetate combustion as a model reaction for total oxidation of volatile organic compounds. The results show that mixed oxide samples prepared using higher hydrothermal treatment temperature (413 K instead of 373 K) possess more finely dispersed tetragonal zirconia particles and significantly higher total pore volumes due to larger pore sizes, while the BET specific surface areas remains similar. Thus improved textural characteristics favor the higher catalytic activity found with the mixed ceria-zirconia samples synthesized by using the higher hydrothermal treatment temperature.