Improvement of thermal stability of highly active species on SiO₂ supported copper-ceria catalysts

CuO-CeO₂/SiO₂ catalysts lose activity when they are calcined at 600 °C and temperatures above. This loss of activity was related to a decrease in the amount of highly dispersed Cu species interacting with Ce (CuO-CeO₂ interface) over the SiO₂ support. These species are highly active in CO oxidation, so this reaction was selected to conduct this study. In order to avoid the activity loss in CuO-CeO₂/SiO₂ catalysts, the effect of high Ce loads (8, 16, 24, and 36%) on the thermal stability of these catalysts was studied. The results reveal that when increasing calcination temperature from 500 to 700 °C, the catalysts with Ce load equal to or higher than 24% increase the formation of highly dispersed Cu interacting with Ce and therefore the activity (90% of CO conversion at 120 °C). In catalysts with Ce load below 24%, Cu species agglomerate and decrease the activity (less than 5% of CO conversion at 120 °C).