Template and interfacial reaction engaged synthesis of CeMnO(x) hollow nanospheres and their performance for toluene oxidation

A series of well-dispersed CeMnO(x) hollow nanospheres with uniform diameter and thickness were synthesized by a novel approach combining the template method and interfacial reaction. A SiO(2) template was used as a hard template for preparation of SiO(2)@CeO(2) nanospheres by solvothermal reaction. SiO(2)@CeMnO(x) could be formed after KMnO(4) was reacted with SiO(2)@CeO(2) by interfacial reaction between MnO(4)(−) and Ce(3+). Among all the prepared catalysts, CeMnO(x)-3 with a moderate content of Mn (15 wt%) exhibited the lowest temperature for complete combustion of toluene (280 °C). Moreover, it showed high stability for 36 h with toluene conversion above 97.7% and good water tolerance with 5 vol% H(2)O. With characterization, we found that the reaction between Ce and Mn in the Ce–Mn binary oxides gave rise to increased Ce(3+) and oxygen vacancies, which led to the formation of enhanced reducibility and more surface-absorbed oxygens (O(2)(2−), O(2−) and O(−)), and improved the catalytic performance further.