Co–Ce Oxides Supported on SBA-15 for VOCs Oxidation

Reported here are new data on the structural and catalytic properties of a series ofmono-component cobalt and bi-component Co–Ce catalysts supported on SBA-15 (Santa BarbaraAmorphous-15)). The catalysts performance has been evaluated by tests on combustion of methane,propane, andn-hexane. It was established that the preparation of the Co–Ce catalysts by the ‘two-solvent’ technique does not significantly change the mesoporous structure, however, its pores areclogging with the Co and Ce guest species. Cobalt and cerium are uniformly distributed and prefer-entially fill up the channels of SBA-15, but oxide agglomerates located on the surface are observed aswell. The highest activity of the mono-component cobalt sample is explained by its higher reducibilityas a result of lower interaction of the cobalt oxide with the SBA-15. The fine dispersion of cobalt andcerium oxide and their strong interaction in the channels of the SBA-15 molecular sieve, leads to theformation of difficult-to-reduce oxide phases and, consequently, to lower catalytic activity comparedto monocomponent cobalt oxide catalyst. The synthesised mesoporous structure can prevent theagglomeration of the oxide particles, thus leading to the successful development of a new and stablecatalyst for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.