Mesoporous zirconia nanobelts: Preparation, characterization and applications in catalytical methane combustion

Abstract

Mesoporous ZrO 2 nanobelts (MZNs) have been prepared by a calcination route of ZrS 3 nanobelts in air. The nanobelts prepared at 400–600 °C are the mixtures of tetragonal and monoclinic phases, and have well-distributed mesopores (pore diameter of about 3.4–3.6 nm). As the calcination temperature increased from 400 to 1200 °C, the structures changed from tetragonal to monoclinic phase, while the morphologies turned from regular nanobelts to bead-like nanowires, and the mesopores disappeared bit by bit. Fe-doped and Fe 2O 3-loaded MZNs have been prepared to compare the catalytic activities of Fe-doped, Fe 2O 3-loaded, and pure MZNs for methane combustion. The results showed that Fe 2O 3-loaded MZNs have rather high catalytic activity, suggesting its potential application in practice. Methane combustion data over the catalysts are well fitted by a first-order kinetic expression.