Synthesis of sulfur-resistant TiO2-CeO2 composite and its catalytic performance in the oxidation of a soluble organic fraction from diesel exhaust

Abstract

Sulfur poisoning is one of the most important factors deteriorating the purification efficiency of diesel exhaust after-treatment system, thus improving the sulfur resistibility of catalysts is imperative. Herein, ceria oxygen storage material was introduced into a sulfur-resistant titania by a co-precipitation method, and the sulfur resistibility and catalytic activity of prepared TiO2-CeO2 composite in the oxidation of diesel soluble organic fraction (SOF) were studied. Catalytic performance testing results show that the CeO2 modification significantly improves the catalytic SOF purification efficiency of TiO2-CeO2 catalyst. SO2 uptake and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) results suggest that the ceria doping does not debase the excellent sulfur resistibility of bare TiO2, the prepared TiO2-CeO2 catalyst exhibits obviously better sulfur resistibility than the CeO2 and commercial CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra indicate that cerium ions can enter into the TiO2 lattice and not form complete CeO2 crystals. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and oxygen storage capacity (OSC) testing results imply that the addition of CeO2 in TiO2-CeO2 catalyst can significantly enhance the surface oxygen concentration and oxygen storage capacity of TiO2-CeO2.