Editors: | F. Kongoli, F. Marquis, N. Chikhradze, T. Prikhna |
Publisher: | Flogen Star OUTREACH |
Publication Year: | 2019 |
Pages: | 174 pages |
ISBN: | 978-1-989820-10-0 |
ISSN: | 2291-1227 (Metals and Materials Processing in a Clean Environment Series) |
In the present study, enhanced microwave (EMW) synthesis, where microwave radiation is coupled with reflux conditions, was used to prepare CeO2, CeO2-La2O3, and CeO2-La2O3-10% Cu catalysts. Ceria has become a promising material that features high redox properties, high population of oxygen vacancies [Ovac], that are crucial for hydrocarbon catalytic reactions such as CO2 reformation of methane (dry reforming of biogas) [1-3]. This is crucial in the sense that they contribute to coke reduction. Post synthetically, the catalyst CeO2-La2O3-10% Cu was ball milled under both, wet and dry conditions. The ball milling technique is expected to further improve the oxygen vacancies and give higher efficiency for uniform multi-component mixed oxides in consideration of time and energy usage. The prepared catalysts were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Remarkably, the EMW synthesis conditions affect the crystallinity of the catalysts (XRD) and the crystal growth, generating particles with crystallite size in the ranges of ~11-19 nm. The ball-milled catalysts exhibited a smaller crystallite size ~9.5 nm (XRD), which corresponds to larger surface area (m2/g). This, in fact, enhances oxygen mobility in the ceria support lattice and yields to the formation of more O vacancies.