Mechanism of the Formation of O2? Radical Anions on CeO2 and (0.5–10)%CeO2/ZrO2 during the Adsorption of an NO-O2 Mixture

It is established by ESR that the adsorption of an NO + O₂ mixture at 20°C on oxidized CeO₂ (O₂, T = 400–700°C) produces radical anions O ₂ ⁻ located both on isolated Ce⁴⁺ cations (O ₂ ⁻ (1)) and in associated anionic vacancies (O ₂ ⁻ (2)). These species differ in thermal stability. For example, O ₂ ⁻ (2) decomposes at 20°C, while O ₂ ⁻ (1) decomposes at 50°C. Only O ₂ ⁻ (1) species are observed at −196°C in ZrO₂-supported CeO₂. In the case of NO + O₂ adsorption at 20°C, O ₂ ⁻ is stabilized on Zr⁴⁺ cations and decomposes at 270°C. Increasing the cerium oxide content of the ZrO₂ surface from 0.5 to 10% only partially inhibits the formation of O ₂ ⁻ -Zr⁴⁺. The Zr⁴⁺ cation is shown to possess a higher Lewis acidity than the Ce⁴⁺ cation, and the ionic bond in O ₂ ⁻ -Zr⁴⁺ complexes is stronger than that in O ₂ ⁻ -Ce⁴⁺ complexes. ESR, temperature-programmed desorption, and IR spectroscopic data for various adsorption complexes of NO on CeO₂ suggest that, in the key step of O ₂ ⁻ formation, free electrons appear on the surface owing to the conversion of adsorbed NO molecules into nitrito chelates on coordinately unsaturated ion pairs Ce⁴⁺-O ₂ ⁻ .__________Translated from Kinetika i Kataliz, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2005, pp. 414–422.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Il’ichev, Shibanova, Ukharskii, Kuli-zade, Korchak.