Catalytic ozonation of oxalic acid over rod-like ceria coated on activated carbon

Abstract

A catalyst consisting of rod-like ceria coated on activated carbon (CeO2@AC) was prepared by an urea-mediated hydrothermal procedure and used towards ozonation of oxalic acid (OA) in water. The results showed that CeO2@AC exhibits good catalytic activity with excellent stability. The ozonation reaction catalyzed by CeO2@AC led to a complete removal of OA (1.5 mM, 0.5 g/L catalyst) in 60 min and showed a 75% increase in OA removal compared to the single non-catalytic ozonation. After five consecutive reuse cycles, CeO2@AC showed almost the same catalytic performance with few only changes in ceria content and surface morphology.