Preparation and desulfurization activity of nano-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalysts

γ-Al2O3-supported CeO2 catalysts were prepared by microemulsion and impregnation methods and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. At the same time, the desulfurization activity of catalysts was investigated. The results show that nanoscale active substances and a high desulfurization effect are achieved by microemulsion, exhibiting a significant dominance compared with traditional impregnation method. The optimal preparation condition is temperature of 30 °C and ratio of [H2O]/[surface active agent] of 7 with slow demulsification. The activated catalysts still keep high and stable desulfurization activity during a wide temperature range of 450–600 °C. Among a series of prepared catalysts, the desulfurization rate of 6CeO2/γ-Al2O3 is the highest, reaching up to 80 % when temperature is higher than 550 °C. The catalytic reduction mechanism of SO2 over nano-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 follows redox mechanism.