Effect of pretreatment methods on the performance of Cu-Zr-Ce-O catalyst for CO selective oxidation

The Cu-Zr-Ce-O catalysts prepared using the coprecipitation method exhibited better catalytic performance for CO selective oxidation. The Cu-Zr-Ce-O catalysts pretreated with different methods were studied by CO-TPR and XPS techniques. The results showed that the Cu-Zr-Ce-O catalyst pretreated with oxygen exhibited the best catalytic performance and had the widest operating temperature window, with CO conversion above 99% from 160 to 200 degrees C. The O(2) pretreatment caused an enrichment of the oxygen storaged on the Cu active species and promoted the conversion of adsorbed oxygen into surface lattice oxygen. It also improved the amount of Cu(+)/Cu(2+) ionic pair, and then facilitated the formation of CuO active species on the catalyst for selective CO oxidation.