Facile construction of Mn2O3@CeO2 core@shell cubes with enhanced catalytic activity toward CO oxidation

Abstract

Heterogeneous core@shell nanostructures bring unique synergetic catalytic properties in comparison with their single-component materials, because the two-phase interface could render hybrid junctions with rich redox reactions. Herein, a series of Mn2O3@CeO2 core@shell cubes with tunable CeO2 shell thickness have been controllably synthesized by a facile multi-step process, which involved the annealing treatment of MnCO3 precursor to produce Mn2O3 microcubes, followed by a refuxing process to deposit a uniform CeO2 layer on the Mn2O3 surface. The CeO2 shell was assembled by nanoparticles with sizes in the range of 2–10 nm, and the thickness could be facilely manipulated by changing the Mn/Ce molar ratios of reactants used in the synthetic process. The Mn2O3@CeO2 core@shell cubes exhibited enhanced catalytic activity toward CO oxidation compared with both pure CeO2 and Mn2O3, which was attributed to the synergistic interaction between CeO2 and Mn2O3. Impressively, Mn2O3@CeO2-0.1 sample with a proper CeO2 thickness exhibited the highest catalytic performance, attaining 100% CO conversion at 220 °C.