One-pot hydrothermal preparation and catalytic performance of porous strontium ferrite hollow spheres for the combustion of toluene

Strontium ferrite (SFO) hollow spheres with or without porous shells were fabricated via a novel one-pot hydrothermal route with the assistance of glucose and/or ethylenediamine. Physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of a number of analytical techniques, and their catalytic performance was evaluated for the combustion of toluene. It is shown that the SFO samples possessed an orthorhombic structure and displayed a porous hollow spherical morphology with a surface area of 18-27 m(2)/g. The SFO sample (SFO-3) derived hydrothermally at 170 degrees C with a glucose/ethylenediamine volumetric ratio of 0.3/1.0 exhibited the highest surface area and oxygen adspecies concentration and the best low-temperature reducibility. Among the SFO samples, the SFO-3 sample showed the best catalytic activity for toluene combustion, and the T-10%, T-50%, and T-90% were ca. 145, 255, and 298 degrees C at a space velocity of 20,000 mL/(g h), respectively. It is concluded that the good catalytic performance of SFO-3 was associated with its surface oxygen species concentration and better low-temperature reducibility. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.