Rh2O3/mesoporous MOx-Al2O3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ba) catalysts: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications

Abstract

Recently, a one-pot self-assembly method was proposed for the synthesis of mesoporous Al2O3 and MOx-Al2O3 composite materials. However, few attempts have been made to use mesoporous MOx-Al2O3 composites to support metal oxides for catalysis. In the present work, mesoporous MOx-Al2O3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ba) materials were prepared by a one-pot self-assembly method using Pluronic P123 as a structure-directing agent. The obtained mesoporous materials were loaded with Rh2O3 nanoparticles via impregnation with Rh(NO3)3 followed by calcination in air at 500 °C. The resulting catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption measurements, transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and their catalytic activity and stability for CO oxidation and N2O decomposition were tested. The Rh2O3 nanoparticles were found to be on the order of 1 nm in size and were highly dispersed on the high surface area mesoporous MOx-Al2O3 supports. A number of the Rh2O3/mesoporous MOx-Al2O3 catalysts exhibited higher catalytic activity than the Rh2O3/mesoporous Al2O3 prepared for comparison.