Gold Supported on Iron Oxide Nanodisk as Efficient Catalyst for The Removal of Toluene

Abstract

In the present study, nanodisk-like Fe2O3 was first prepared using the hydrothermal method, and then its supported gold catalysts (xAu/Fe2O3 nanodisk, x = 0.71–6.55 wt %) were fabricated using the polyvinyl alcohol-protected reduction method. Under the reaction conditions of toluene concentration = 1000 ppm, toluene/O2 molar ratio = 1/400, and space velocity = 20 000 mL/(g h), 6.55Au/Fe2O3 nanodisk performed the best (T50% = 200 °C and T90% = 260 °C). The apparent activation energies (46–50 kJ/mol) obtained over the xAu/Fe2O3 nanodisk were smaller than that (65 kJ/mol) obtained over the Fe2O3 nanodisk for toluene oxidation. We conclude that the high oxygen adspecies concentration, good low-temperature reducibility, and strong interaction between Au nanoparticles and the Fe2O3 nanodisk are responsible for the high catalytic performance of the 6.55Au/Fe2O3 nanodisk.