Characterization of porous LaCoO3 prepared from wood powder template and its catalysis for diesel particulate matter

Abstract

In this paper, LaCoO3 porous perovskite was synthesized using wood powder template combined with sol–gel process, while LaCoO3 prepared by traditional sol–gel method was used as a comparison. The catalysts prepared by different methods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), N2 adsorption–desorption, and the particulate matter (PM) trapping and catalytic oxidation tests were carried out by engine bench test and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The results showed that the porous LaCoO3 successfully replicated the structural features of wood powder from macroscopic to tracheid, forming a porous structure. Porous LaCoO3 exhibits better catalytic activity than powdered LaCoO3 with similar specific surface area, this can be attributed to the porous structure of LaCoO3, which increases the contact area and the number of contact points between PM and catalyst.