Reactive Fe-O-Ce Sites in Ceria Catalysts for Soot Oxidation

This study investigates the role of oxygen vacancy on Fe-doped CeO2 catalyst activity for soot oxidation. The oxygen vacancy was assessed through Ce3+ content. The Fe content was varied between 0 and 30% for two catalyst preparation methods, co-precipitation (CP) and solution combustion synthesis (SCS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that ceria exists as both Ce4+ and Ce3+, while iron is present only as Fe3+. The catalyst’s activity was evaluated by ignition (T10) and combustion (T50) temperatures using thermogravimetric analysis. Optimum Fe contents yielding the highest activity were found to be 10% and 5% for CP and SCS catalysts, respectively. The surface area and morphology showed a moderate effect on catalyst activity, because catalytic soot oxidation involves solid–solid contact. More importantly, regardless of the fabrication method, it was found that Ce3+ content, which is closely related to oxygen vacancies, plays the most important role in affecting the catalyst activity.