Mechanism of CeO_2 synthesized by thermal decomposition of Ce-MOF and its performance of benzene catalytic combustion

In this paper, the formation mechanism of mesoporous CeO₂ synthesized by thermal decomposition of Ce-MOF and its performance of benzene catalytic combustion, as well as the structure–activity relationship between them were studied in depth. The self-assembly process and physicochemical properties of CeO₂ were characterized by thermogravimetry analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption/desorption, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Characterization results show that Ce-MOF is completely decomposed into pure mesoporous CeO₂ when the decomposition temperature is higher than 400 °C. At this threshold temperature, CeO₂ (400) has the largest specific surface area and pore volume of 114 m²/g and 0.152 cm³/g, respectively. CeO₂ (400) exhibits very high catalytic activity for benzene combustion, which can completely catalyze the degradation of benzene at 260 °C. Meanwhile, the mesoporous CeO₂ (400) supported Pt nanocrystalline catalysts were prepared by high temperature solution-phase reduction method. Pt/CeO₂ (400) can completely degrade benzene at about 200 °C and represents high durability and good water-resistance for benzene combustion during 100 h of continuous reaction.