High-performance and long-term stability of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO₂ microsphere for catalytic CO oxidation

Although the low-temperature reaction mechanism of catalytic CO oxidation reaction remains unclear, the active sites of copper play a crucial role in this mechanism. One-step aerosol-assisted self-assembly (AASA) process has been developed for the synthesis of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO₂ microspheres (CuTMS) to incorporate copper into the TiO₂ lattice. This strategy highly enhanced the dispersion of copper from 41.10 to 83.65%. Long-term stability of the as-synthesized CuTMS materials for catalytic CO oxidation reaction was monitored using real-time mass spectrum. Isolated CuO and Cu-O-Ti were formed as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice changes the electron densities of Ti(IV) and O, causing a subsequent change in Ti(III)/Ti(IV) and O_non/O_Total ratio. 20CuTMS contained the highest lattice distortion (0.44) in which the O_non/O_Total ratio is lowest (0.18). This finding may be attributed to the absolute formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice. However, the decrease of Ti(III)/Ti(IV) ratio to about 0.35 of 25CuTMS was caused by the CuO cluster formation on the surface. N₂O titration-assisted H₂ temperature-programmed reduction and in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the properties of copper and effects of active sites.