Influence of pH on the catalytic performance of CuO–CoOx–CeO2 for CO oxidation

Abstract

Ternary catalysts, namely CuO–CoO_x–CeO₂, are prepared by coprecipitation with different pH and characterized by techniques such as N₂ adsorption/desorption, XRD, TPR, TEM and XPS. The results show that pH plays a crucial role in determining the physicochemical properties such as surface area, particle sizes and valence states of the elements on the surface of the catalysts. It can also be found that suitable pH values may facilitate the formation of Cu⁺ and the redox recycle of Cu²⁺ to Cu⁺ due to the synergistic effect between copper oxide and the support such as cobalt oxide and ceria, which, as a result, is beneficial to achieve CuO–CoO_x–CeO₂ with high catalytic performance for CO oxidation.