Fabrication of CeO2@MnO2 Core–Shell Nanospheres and Their Application in CO Oxidation

Abstract

Rational design and fabrication of heterogeneous core–shell nanostructures is of great significance because their two-phase interface could render hybrid junctions with rich redox reactions, which are beneficial for improving catalytic performance. Herein, hierarchical CeO2 yolk-shell nanospheres@MnO2 nanosheets core–shell nanostructures were fabricated by a multistep wet chemical synthetic strategy. The resulting CeO2@MnO2 core–shell nanospheres exhibited high catalytic activity toward CO oxidation in comparison with pure CeO2 and MnO2 structures and their physical and chemical mixture. The enhanced catalytic performance should be attributed to the formation of core–shell structure and the possible synergistic effects between the two components of MnO2 and CeO2, which facilitates materials with promoted redox properties and enhanced oxidation activity. In addition, this synthetic method is expected to extend to fabricate other multi-composite core–shell structures for a broad range of technical applications.