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Updated: May 31, 2026

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Co3O4-SiO2 nanocomposite: a very active catalyst for CO oxidation with unusual catalytic behavior
Chun-Jiang Jia1, Manfred Schwickardi, Claudia Weidenthaler
1Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
Abstract:
A high surface area Co(3)O(4)-SiO(2) nanocomposite catalyst has been prepared by use of activated carbon as template. The Co(3)O(4)-SiO(2) composite, the surface of which is rich in silica and Co(II) species compared with normal Co(3)O(4), exhibited very high activity for CO oxidation even at a temperature as low as -76 °C. A rather unusual temperature-dependent activity curve, with the lowest conversion at about 80 °C, was observed with a normal feed gas (H(2)O content ~3 ppm). The U-shape of the activity curve indicates a negative apparent activation energy over a certain temperature range, which has rarely been observed for the heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation of CO. Careful investigation of the catalytic behavior of Co(3)O(4)-SiO(2) catalyst led to the conclusion that adsorption of H(2)O molecules on the surface of the catalyst caused the unusual behavior. This conclusion was supported by in situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared (DRIFT) spectroscopic experiments under both normal and dry conditions.
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