Period Four Transition Metal Effect on Catalytic Activity of CeO2 supported Metal Oxide Catalysts Synthesized Via One Pot Chemical Vapor Deposition (OP-CVD)

Ceria (CeO₂) is a common support material used in catalysis due to its redox properties. Thus, in this study ceria supported MO_x (M= Period four transition metals Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) catalysts were synthesized by one-pot chemical vapor deposition (OP-CVD) method. The catalysts underwent various characterization tests and the catalytic activity of each species was analyzed using CO oxidation as a model reaction. The characterization techniques that were used include thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Characterization testing results conclude that the MO_x species was well dispersed onto CeO₂. Activity data shows CuO/CeO₂ has the highest catalytic activity (~98% CO conversion at ~155 °C) which can be explained by the creation of oxygen vacancies and electron configuration of copper.

The obtained result provided the feasibility of OP-CVD method to synthesize a different type of supported catalysts effectively: no solvent, and relatively simple synthesis procedures (solid-mixing, evaporation, and calcination). The synthesized supported catalysts can be applied to broad ranges of catalysis areas.

Acknowledgement: The authors acknowledge funding support from the National Science Foundation (NSF-CBET-2050824). The authors would
also like to thank the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) for the facilities at Stony Brook University.