The Promotional Effect of La Dopant on Co 3 O 4 Catalytic Performance Towards C 3 H 8 Combustion

A series of La doped Co3O4 catalysts were synthesized through hydrothermal routes and employed in C3H8 combustion to investigate the effect of La doping on the structural and catalytic properties of Co3O4 catalysts. The results showed that the presence of La could induce lattice distortion in Co3O4, which facilitated the formation of oxygen vacancies, thus improving the activation and adsorption of gas phase oxygen. Moreover, the DRIFT experiments indicated that the dopant of La was not only beneficial to the adsorption of C3H8 but also helpful in the inhibition of surface carbonates accumulation. As a result, the Co3O4 doped with 1.8% molar ratio of La (CoLa-1.8) exhibited the best catalytic performance towards C3H8 combustion with T50 and T90 as low as 230 °C and 264 °C.