Formaldehyde Oxidation of Ce(0.8)Zr(0.2)O(2) Nanocatalysts for Room Temperature: Kinetics and Effect of pH Value

Ce(0.8)Zr(0.2)O(2) catalysts were prepared via the co-precipitation method under different pH conditions. The catalysts were characterized via TEM, XRD, XPS, BET, Raman, and FTIR. The oxidation performance of formaldehyde was tested. Precipitation pH affects the physicochemical properties and performance of the Ce(0.8)Zr(0.2)O(2) catalyst. By controlling the precipitation pH at 10.5, the Ce(0.8)Zr(0.2)O(2) catalyst with the largest specific surface area, the smallest grain size with the best formaldehyde removal rate (98.85%), abundant oxygen vacancies, and the best oxidation performance were obtained. Meanwhile, the kinetic parameters of the catalyst were experimentally investigated and the calculated activation energy was 12.6 kJ/mol and the number of reaction steps was 1.4 and 1.2.