Preparation of mesoporous CexCoO as highly effective catalysts for toluene combustion: The synergetic effects of structural template and Ce doping

Cobalt‐based catalyst, as a typical catalyst for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) combustion, has attracted extensive attention. However, the catalytic activity of pure Co₃O₄ is difficult to meet the requirements of practical application especially at low temperatures. Therefore, it is key to find an effective way to improve the catalytic performance of Co₃O₄. In this paper, Co₃O₄ is modified by engineering a combination of structural template and Ce dopant. The various characterization results verify that the template agent and the doping of appropriate Ce lead to great changes in the texture property and low temperature reducibility of Co₃O₄, thus resulting in superior catalytic performances of obtained mesoporous Ce_xCoO catalysts. In particular, the best catalyst, Ce_0.05CoO, achieves a toluene conversion of T_90% at 238°C, which is significantly lower than many of the Co‐based catalysts reported in previous literatures. Furthermore, the toluene conversion rate maintains above 90% during 100 h at 238°C. The excellent catalytic performance of Ce_0.05CoO can be attributed to its large specific surface area, uniform pore structure, good low temperature reducibility, and abundant surface oxygen species.