Effects of CeO2 on the XPS valence band spectra of coal under the combustion initialization stage at 400°C

Abstract

In order to get the catalytic mechanism of CeO2 on graphite and coal at 400°C, the morphologies of coal, graphite, and CeO2 before and after combustion were analyzed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that the particle size of coal is mostly between 11.727 and 64.79 μm, while the particle size of CeO2 is between 1.937 and 11.79 μm. The agglomeration of coal and CeO2 can be seen by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after reaction. XPS results show that with the addition of CeO2, the intensity of binding energy gets stronger, but there is no energy peak transition. Comparing the character of coal with and without the addition of CeO2, it can be seen that the C-C bond fractures first at 400°C, while the C-H energy-band takes electrons at the same time to be far away from the Fermi level, and the O 2s, O 2p, and C sp hybrid orbitals are all excited. Adding CeO2 can enhance the activity of the whole coal. In addition, through XPS analysis, combined with the oxygen transfer theory and the electron transfer theory, the catalytic mechanism of CeO2 for pulverized coal combustion could be obtained.