A comparative study of hydrothermally derived Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn doped ceria nanocatalysts

Abstract The catalytic activity and properties of hydrothermally derived nanocrystalline ceria, as well as ceria doped substitutionally by 10 mol. % of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn, were investigated. It was determined that in the course of synthesis and under the synthesis conditions applied Mn, Cu and Zn enter the ceria crystal lattice, while for other investigated metals additional crystal phases appear. The presence of a foreign cation did not affect the ceria crystallite size, particle size or specific surface area. Nanocatalysts with crystallite and particle sizes close to 5 nm and with specific surface area around 200 m2 g-1 were prepared. However, except for Mn, a negative influence of dopants on coarsening resistance has been observed. Doping with Cu and Mn significantly enhanced the ceria catalytic activity, slight improvement was observed for samples with Zn and Fe, while samples with Ni and Co showed a decreased catalytic activity.