Rod-Like Nanoporous CeO 2 Modified by PdO Nanoparticles for CO Oxidation and Methane Combustion with High Catalytic Activity and Water Resistance

A PdO/CeO2 composite with a rod-like nanoporous skeletal structure was prepared by combining the dealloying of Al-Ce-Pd alloy ribbons with calcination. For CO oxidation and CH4 combustion, the nanoporous PdO/CeO2 composite exhibits excellent catalytic activity, and the complete reaction temperatures of CO and CH4 are 80 °C and 380 °C, respectively. In addition, the composite possesses excellent cycle stability, CO2 toxicity, and water resistance, and the catalytic activity hardly decreases after 100 h of long-term stability testing in the presence of water vapour (2 × 105 ppm). The results of a series of characterizations indicate that the enhanced catalytic activity can be attributed to the good dispersion of the PdO nanoparticles, large specific surface area, strong redox capacity, interaction between PdO and CeO2, and more surface active oxygen on PdO. The results of the characterization and experiments also indicate that the PdO nanoparticles, prepared by combining dealloying and calcination, have a stronger catalytic activity than do Pd nanoparticles. Finally, a simple model is used to summarize the catalytic mechanism of the PdO/CeO2 composite. It is hoped that this work will provide insights into the development of high-activity catalysts.