Oxygen States in Oxides with a Perovskite Structure and Their Catalytic Activity in Complete Oxidation Reactions: System La1 – x Ca x FeO3 – y (x = 0–1)

Oxygen states in the La_{1 – x} Ca _x FeO_{3 – y} perovskites prepared using different procedures are studied by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). Results are compared to data on the catalytic activity in the oxidation of methane and carbon monoxide. The activity of the samples in the CO and CH₄ oxidation over a wide temperature range (200–600°C) is shown to correlate with the amount of reactive surface and subsurface oxygen removable during TPR below 420°C. These oxygen states in the samples of the La_{1 – x} Ca _x FeO_{3 – y} series can be associated with the domain or intergrain boundaries. No correlation is found between the amount of lattice oxygen removable during TPR and the activity of the La_{1 – x} Ca _x FeO_{3 – y} samples in the complete oxidation of methane at temperatures of 450–600°C. It is suggested that catalytic complete oxidation is determined by the most reactive surface and subsurface oxygen states located at the interphase boundaries, whereas the lattice oxygen does not participate in these reactions.