Cobalt oxide decorated porous silica particles: Structure and activity relationship in the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide

Abstract

Porous (0.6–30 nm) and non-porous spherical silica nanoparticles are synthesized. These silicas with different morphologies are decorated with cobalt (2.9 wt%) using Co(NO3)2·6H2O as precursor. Co-SiO2 particles are studied by N2 sorption, TEM, XRD, XPS, FTIR and TPR-H2 methods. Specific surface area (SSA) of the prepared materials is 10–1200 m2/g. The main crystalline phase is identified as Co3O4. The activity of Co-SiO2 composites in the CO oxidation and preferential oxidation of CO (PROX) in a H2-rich gas mixture improves with increasing atomic ratios of Co/Si and Co3+/Co2+ on the silica surface. Catalysts with the large mesopores containing mainly Co2+ are the least active. Co-SiO2 composites based on synthetic opal grown by sedimentation of non-porous silica particles with the lowest SSA demonstrate the highest catalytic activity. The CO conversion reaches 100% at 150 °C in the absence of hydrogen, while in PROX the 90% conversion of CO is achieved at 170 °C. The large Co3O4 aggregates between non-porous spherical silica particles of opal are the most active and stable during CO-PROX reaction. The lower interaction of Co3O4 nanoparticles with this support promotes the stabilization of the oxidized state Co3+ and provides a higher yield of CO2 in CO-PROX reaction.