Calibrated Co3O4 nanoparticles patterned in SBA-15 silicas: Accessibility and activity for CO oxidation

The catalytic performances in CO oxidation of Co₃O₄ nanoparticles patterned in the porosity of SBA-15 silicas are investigated. Accessibility limitations of the reactants to the catalytic sites are clearly revealed, when the Co₃O₄ nanoparticles are embedded in the SBA-15 pores. Despite these limitations, the synthesised Co₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibit promising CO oxidation properties.     

Co3O4 and Mn3O4 Nanoparticles Dispersed on SBA-15: Efficient Catalysts for Methane Combustion

Co₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles were successfully impregnated on SBA-15 mesoporous silica. A high dispersion of these metal oxide particles was achieved while using a “two-solvents” procedure, allowing a proper control of the metal oxides loading (7 wt%) and size (10–12 nm). These Co₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ supported oxides on SBA-15 were characterised by means of XRD, BET and TEM techniques. The influence of the nature of the silica support was investigated in terms of porosity and specific surface area. Since, an improved catalytic activity was achieved over SBA-15 mesoporous silica; it appears that its organised porous meso-structure creates a confinement medium which permits a high dispersion of metal oxide nanoparticles. Supported Co₃O₄/SBA-15 (7 wt%) showed the highest catalytic performance in the combustion of methane under lower explosive limit conditions, comparable to perovskites. These materials become therefore novel efficient combustion catalysts at low metal loading.     

Metal oxides nanoparticles on SBA-15: Efficient catalyst for methane combustion

Catalysts based on crystalline nanoparticles of Mn and Co metal oxides supported on mesoporous silica SBA-15 have been developed. These materials were characterized by XRD, BET and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. SBA-15 mesoporous silica was synthesized by a conventional sol–gel method using a tri-block copolymer as surfactant. Supported Mn₃O₄ and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles were obtained after calcination of as-impregnated SBA-15 by a metal salt precursor. The catalytic activity was evaluated in the combustion of methane at low concentration.Co₃O₄/SBA-15 (7 wt.%) exhibits the highest performance among the different oxides. Furthermore, this novel generation of catalysts appeared as active as conventional LaCoO₃ perovskite, usually taken as reference for this reaction. Thanks to its organized meso-structures, SBA-15 material creates peculiar diffusion conditions for reactants and/or products.     

Nanocasting Synthesis of Mesostructured Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> via a Supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Deposition Method and the Catalytic Performance for CO Oxidation

Abstract  

We demonstrate a supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) deposition method to synthesize mesostructured Co₃O₄ with crystalline walls using SBA-15 as the hard template. By variation of the scCO₂ pressure, randomly organized nanorods or a highly ordered mesoporous structure of Co₃O₄ is obtained after only one filling operation. The catalytic tests show that the randomly organized Co₃O₄ nanorods display excellent activity for CO oxidation with the complete conversion of CO even at room temperature, while neither the ordered mesoporous nor bulk Co₃O₄ is active at this low-temperature, demonstrating the important role of Co₃O₄ morphology in catalysis.     

Comparison between unsupported mesoporous Co3O4 and supported Co3O4 on mesoporous silica as catalysts for N2O decomposition

Mesoporous Co₃O₄ (meso-Co₃O₄) and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica SBA-15 (Co/SBA-15) were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and an impregnation method, respectively. Although the as-prepared meso-Co₃O₄ had mesopores and a higher surface area comparable to that of Co/SBA-15, its catalytic activity for N₂O decomposition was much lower than that of Co₃O₄/SBA-15. The low catalytic activity of meso-Co₃O₄ mainly stems from the drastic decrease of the meso-Co₃O₄ surface area under the reaction condition used. On the other hand, Co/SBA-15 maintained its high surface area and mesopores with the aid of a robust silica support. This finding indicates that Co₃O₄ supported by a support is much more stable and efficient than meso-Co₃O₄ under N₂O decomposition reaction conditions.     

Low-temperature CO oxidation by Co3O4 nanocubes on the surface of Co(OH)2 nanosheets

CO oxidation has been performed on Co₃O₄ nanocubes and Co(OH)₂ nanosheets as model catalysts. The reaction rate of CO on Co₃O₄/Co(OH)₂ nanocomposites obtained by one-pot synthesis is about ~ two orders of magnitude higher than that on Co₃O₄ nanomaterials. The catalytic behaviors of different nanomaterials revealed that the assembly with nano building blocks cause the catalytic sites much more active for CO oxidation. The kinetic data showed that the activation energy for CO oxidation over Co₃O₄/Co(OH)₂ nanocomposites was lower than that of other nanomaterials. Since Co(OH)₂ nanosheets can prevent Co₃O₄ nanocubes aggregating, nanocomposites kept good catalytic stability.     

Comparison of PdCo/SBA-15 prepared by co-impregnation and sequential impregnation for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Properties and catalytic performance of bimetallic Pd–Co/SBA-15 prepared by co-impregnation (0.2Pd–10Co-CIP) and sequential impregnation (0.2Pd–10Co-SIP) for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) were investigated. After calcination, Co₃O₄ was formed and located inside the channels of SBA-15 and on external surface. Compared to 0.2Pd–10Co-SIP, 0.2Pd–10Co-CIP had a smaller surface area, pore size, lower reduction temperature and less active sites due to larger particle sizes of Co₃O₄. From FTS testing, 0.2Pd–10Co-SIP provided higher and steadier conversions of CO and H₂ as well as higher yield of C₅–C₉ products.     

Metal-organic framework as a host for synthesis of nanoscale Co3O4 as an active catalyst for CO oxidation

Co₃O₄ nanoparticles were prepared from cobalt nitrate that was accommodated in the pores of a metal-organic framework (MOF) ZIF-8 (Zn(MeIM)₂, MeIM = 2-methylimidazole) by using a simple liquid-phase method. The ZIF-8 host was removed by pyrolysis under air and subsequently washing with an NH₄Cl–NH₃·H₂O aqueous solution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis shows that the obtained Co₃O₄ is composed of separate nanoparticles with a mean size of 18 nm. The Co₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibit excellent catalytic activity, cycling stability, and long-term stability in the low temperature CO oxidation.     

Effect of CeO2 Doping on Structure and Catalytic Performance of Co3O4 Catalyst for Low-Temperature CO Oxidation

The effect of CeO₂ doping on structure and catalytic performance of Co₃O₄ catalyst was studied for low-temperature CO oxidation. The Co₃O₄ catalyst was prepared by a precipitation method and the CeO₂/Co₃O₄ catalyst was prepared by an impregnation method. Their catalytic performance had been studied with a continuous flowing micro-reactor. The results reveal that the CeO₂/Co₃O₄ catalyst exhibits much better resistance to water vapor poisoning than the Co₃O₄ catalyst for CO oxidation. The CeO₂/Co₃O₄ catalyst can maintain CO complete conversion at least 8,400 min at 110 °C with 0.6% water vapor in the feed gas, while the Co₃O₄ catalyst can maintain at 100% for only 100 min. Characterizations with XRD, TEM and TPR suggest that the CeO₂/Co₃O₄ catalyst possesses higher dispersion degree, smaller particles and larger S_BET, due to the doping of Ceria, and exists the interaction between CeO₂ and Co₃O₄, which may contribute to the excellent water resistance for low-temperature CO oxidation. Furthermore, the H₂ detected in the reactor outlet gas seems to indicate that the water–gas shift reaction is the more direct reason.     

Manganese and cobalt-terephthalate metal-organic frameworks as a precursor for synthesis of Mn2O3, Mn3O4 and Co3O4 nanoparticles: Active catalysts for olefin heterogeneous oxidation

The thermal decomposition of manganese and cobalt-terephthalate Metal-Organic Framework precursors was utilized as a synthetic route for fabrication of Co₃O₄, Mn₃O₄ and Mn₂O₃ nanoparticles. The prepared metal oxide nanoparticles of Co₃O₄, Mn₃O₄ and Mn₂O₃ possess average size diameter of 40, 60 and 80 nm respectively. The findings demonstrate that spinel structure nanoparticles of Co₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ exhibit efficient catalytic activity toward heterogeneous olefin epoxidation in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide. In addition, Co₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles illustrated excellent catalytic stability and reusability for nine and four cycles, respectively, toward olefin oxidation.     

Catalytic aerobic oxidation of ethylbenzene over Co/SBA-15

Co(II)O was highly dispersed in the mesopores of SBA-15 by alcoholic impregnation method and characterized by XRD, TEM, UV–VIS DRS, TPR, and XRF techniques. It was found that tetrahedral coordinated Co(II)O was stabilized by SBA-15 at low Co-loading. Co/SBA-15 showed much higher activity than Co(OAc)₂ or Co₃O₄ in the liquid-phase aerobic oxidation of ethylbenzene under solvent-free condition.     

Selective Allylic oxidation of Cyclohexene by a Magnetically Recoverable Cobalt Oxide Catalyst

Abstract  

In this work, we prepared a new magnetically recoverable CoO catalyst through the deposition of the catalytic active metal nanoparticles of 2–3 nm on silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles to facilitate the solid separation from liquid media. The catalyst was fully characterized and presented interesting properties in the oxidation of cyclohexene, as for example, selectivity to the allylic oxidation product. It was also observed that CoO is the most active species when compared to Co²⁺, Co₃O₄ and Fe₃O₄ in the catalytic conditions studied.     

Preparation and catalytic performance of Co3O4 catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation

Without use of any surfactant or oxidant, a series of Co₃O₄ catalysts have been prepared from cobalt nitrate aqueous solution via a very simple liquid-precipitation method with ammonium acid carbonate followed by calcination at various temperatures. The catalytic performance of the Co₃O₄ for CO oxidation has been studied with a continuous flowing laboratory microreactor system. The results show that the CO conversion of all the samples can reach 100% at ambient temperature. The catalyst calcined at 300 °C is able to maintain its activity for CO complete oxidation more than 500 min at 25 °C and about 240 min even at −78 °C. High reaction temperature results in a high catalytic stability, while the catalytic stability decreases with further increasing the reaction temperature. Characterizations with X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy suggest that all the samples exist as a pure Co₃O₄ phase with the spinel structure, the samples are apt to aggregate and the specific surface area gradually decreases with increasing the calcination temperature, which directly leads to the decrease of catalytic stability. Furthermore, the amount of active oxygen species measured by CO titration experiments appears to be critical for catalytic performance.     

Effect of acid sites on catalytic destruction of trichloroethylene over solid acid catalysts

The catalytic destruction of trichloroethylene (TCE) over several solid acid catalysts (HZSM-5, γ-Al₂O₃ and SBA-15/P) was evaluated under dry conditions. The activity order was found to be: HZSM-5>SBA-15/P>γ-Al₂O₃. It was reported that Brønsted and Lewis acid sites of catalysts both played an important role on TCE catalytic destruction, while the Brønsted acid sites were more decisive. Additionally, the formation of the polychlorinated by-product (tetrachloroethylene, PCE) over HZSM-5 and γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts was observed and attributed to the presence of Lewis acid sites and basic O^2?, and PCE was not detected over SBA-15/P catalyst due to the presence of only Brønsted acid sites. The TCE/O₂-TPSR studies demonstrated that the main oxidation products during TCE catalytic destruction are CO, CO₂ and Cl₂, and the carbon in TCE was firstly converted to CO and then further oxidized into CO₂ by gas phase O₂.     

High catalytic activity in CO PROX reaction of low cobalt-oxide loading catalysts supported on nano-particulate CeO2–ZrO2 oxides

Co₃O₄/NP-ZrO₂, Co₃O₄/NP-CeO₂ and Co₃O₄/NP-Ce_0.8Zr_0.2O₂ catalysts were prepared via a reverse microemulsion/incipient wetness impregnation (RM–IWI) method. The catalytic properties for CO preferential oxidation (CO PROX) reaction in H₂-rich stream were investigated. The Co₃O₄/NP-Ce_0.8Zr_0.2O₂ catalyst with 1.8 wt.% Co₃O₄ loading has exhibited higher catalytic activity than that of the other two catalysts. The higher catalytic activity might be attributed to the combination effect of the highly dispersed cobalt oxide, the improvement in CeO₂ reducibility due to ZrO₂ incorporation in CeO₂ structures, and the strong cobalt oxide-support interaction.     

CO oxidation at 20 °C over Au/SBA-15 catalysts decorated by Fe2O3 nanoparticles

This contribution describes the effect of SBA-15 substrate modification with variable amounts of Fe₂O₃ (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.%) on the catalytic response of supported gold catalysts in CO oxidation at 20 °C. Catalytic activity was found to increase with the Fe₂O₃ loading even though this increase was not linear: the highest catalytic activity was observed for the catalyst loaded with 15 wt.% Fe₂O₃. For the most active Au/S15–15Fe catalyst, this behavior is explained in terms of the largest Fe₂O₃ cluster dispersion on the surface of the SBA-15 substrate (by XRD), the highest surface exposure of the Au⁰ species (by XPS) and its large stability during on-stream reaction.     

NO oxidation over supported cobalt oxide catalysts

NO oxidation was conducted over cobalt oxides supported on various supports such as SiO₂, ZrO₂, TiO₂, and CeO₂. The N₂ physisorption, an inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), NO chemisorptions, the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) with a mass spectroscopy after NO or CO chemisorptions were conducted to characterize catalysts. Among tested catalysts, Co₃O₄ supported on ceria with a high surface area showed the highest catalytic activity. This catalyst showed superior catalytic activity to unsupported Co₃O₄ with a high surface area and 1 wt% Pt/γ-Al₂O₃. For ceria-supported Co₃O₄, the catalytic activity, the NO uptake at 298 K and the dispersion of Co₃O₄ increased with increasing the surface area of CeO₂. The active participation of the lattice oxygen in NO oxidation could not be observed. On the other hand, the lattice oxygen participated in the CO oxidation over the same catalyst. The deactivation was observed over Co₃O₄/CeO₂ and 1 wt% Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ in the presence of SO₂ in a feed. 1 wt% Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ was deactivated by SO₂ more rapidly compared with Co₃O₄/CeO₂.     

The supported CeO2/Co3O4–MnO2/CeO2 catalyst on activated carbon prepared by a successive-loading approach with superior catalytic activity and selectivity for CO preferential oxidation in H2-rich stream

The supported CeO₂/Co₃O₄–MnO₂/CeO₂ catalyst on activated carbon (AC) prepared by a successive loading approach to support ceria, cobalt-manganese oxide and ceria on activated carbon exhibits superior catalytic activity and selectivity to Co₃O₄–MnO₂–CeO₂/AC prepared by a one-step loading for CO preferential oxidation in H₂-rich stream, although the same loading of Co, Mn and Ce was used, which illustrates that the addition of ceria doesn't always enhance catalytic performance in CO PROX reaction, and appreciate supporting method is essential. The superior catalytic activity and selectivity of developed catalyst can be ascribed to high reducibility, well dispersion, unique porous structure, and strong interaction between Co₃O₄–MnO₂ and CeO₂.     

Origin of the High Activity and Stability of Co3O4 in Low-temperature CO Oxidation

In this paper, the Co₃O₄ catalysts prepared by the liquid phase precipitation method were investigated with respect to their activity and stability in CO oxidation reaction. The Co₃O₄ catalysts were comparatively investigated by thermal gravimetry analysis (TG-DTG), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption, CO titration and O₂-temperature program desorption (O₂-TPD). The results of XRD show that all the catalysts exist as a pure Co₃O₄ phase with the spinel structure. The high catalytic activity observed at ambient temperature is followed by a gradual decrease. The CO titration experiments show that the Co₃O₄ catalysts possess active oxygen species. The total amount of active oxygen species and the specific surface area decrease with increasing calcination temperature. The O₂-TPD results indicate that O ₂ ^? and O^? are the possible active oxygen species.     

Cobalt and Copper Composite Oxides as Efficient Catalysts for Preferential Oxidation of CO in H2-Rich Stream

A series of Co–Cu composite oxides with different Co/Cu atomic ratios were prepared by a co-precipitation method. XRD, N₂ sorption, TEM, XPS, H₂-TPR, CO-TPR, CO-TPD and O₂-TPD were used to characterize the structure and redox properties of the composite oxides. Only spinel structure of Co₃O₄ phase was confirmed for the Co–Cu composite oxides with Co/Cu ratios of 4/1 and 2/1, but the particle sizes of these composite oxides decreased evidently compared with Co₃O₄. These composite oxides could be reduced at lower temperatures than Co₃O₄ by either H₂ or CO. CO and O₂ adsorption amounts over the composite oxides were significantly higher than those over Co₃O₄. These results indicated a strong interaction between cobalt and copper species in the composite samples, possibly suggesting the formation of Cu _x Co_3?x O₄ solid solution. For the preferential oxidation of CO in a H₂-rich stream, the Co–Cu composite oxides (Co/Cu = 4/1–1/1) showed distinctly higher catalytic activities than both Co₃O₄ and CuO, and the formation of Cu _x Co_3?x O₄ solid solution was proposed to contribute to the high catalytic activity of the composite catalysts. The Co–Cu composite oxide was found to exhibit higher catalytic activity than several other Co₃O₄-based binary oxides including Co–Ce, Co–Ni, Co–Fe and Co–Zn oxides.