Promotional effect of cobalt addition on catalytic performance of Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 mixed oxide for diesel soot combustion

A series of Co-modified Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 catalysts with different concentrations of Co (mass %: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) was investigated for diesel soot combustion. Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 was prepared using the co-precipitation method and Co was loaded onto the oxide using the incipient wetness impregnation method. The activities of the catalysts were evaluated by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) experiments. The results showed the soot combustion activities of the catalysts to be effectively improved by the addition of Co, 6 % Co/Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 and that the 8 % Co/Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 catalysts exhibited the best catalytic performance in terms of lower soot ignition temperature (T-i at 349 degrees C) and maximal soot oxidation rate temperature (T-m at 358 degrees C). The reasons for the improved activity were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), H-2 temperature-programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These results revealed that the presence of Co could lower the reduction temperature due to the synergistic effect between Co and Ce, thereby improving the activity of the catalysts in soot combustion. The 6 % Co catalyst exhibited the best catalytic performance, which could be attributed to the greater amounts of Co3+ and surface oxygen species on the catalyst. (C) 2016 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences