Abstract
A famous hard-template method (HT), coprecipitation method (PC), and complex method (CA) were used to prepare CeCu composite oxide catalysts. The prepared catalysts were characterized via XRD, BET, Raman, XPS, FI–IR, and O2–TPD, and their catalytic activity and stability were evaluated for the propyl acetate catalytic combustion. The results showed that the CeCu oxide solid solution and oxygen vacancies were formed in the prepared CeCu oxide catalysts, even for CeCu–PC and CeCu–CA having a specific amount of isolated crystalline or amorphous CuO species. Comparing with the CeCu–PC and CeCu–CA of low porosity, CeCu–HT developed a mesoporous structure with a much larger specific surface area through a negative replica on the structure of KIT-6, and in it, CuO was completely dissolved in the CeO2 lattice to form more CeCu oxide solid solution and a large amount of oxygen vacancies. As a result, the CeCu–HT catalyst has more surface-adsorbed oxygen species, more –OH group which can also change into surface-adsorbed oxygen species at relatively high temperatures, higher oxygen desorption ability, and higher oxygen mobility than CeCu–PC and CeCu–CA. The CeCu–HT catalyst shows high and stable propyl acetate catalytic combustion performance at 190 °C. The propyl acetate catalytic combustion activity on the prepared CeCu oxide catalysts can be ranked as: CeCu–HT > CeCu–PC > CeCu–CA, which follows the orders of CeCu oxide solid solution content, surface-active oxygen content, and oxygen desorption and mobility of the CeCu composite oxide catalysts.