Tailoring the BaCoO₃-CeO₂ catalyst for NO direct decomposition: Factors determining catalytic activity

The 5%BaCoO₃-CeO₂ catalysts show excellent catalytic performance for NO direct decomposition; however, the reasons for the high activity remain to be explored. Here, the catalyst was prepared by different methods (citric acid–nitrate one-pot method, impregnation method and mechanical mixing method), aiming to reveal the factors determining the catalytic activity. The results show that the one-pot derived materials display superior activity and oxygen resistance, which is stemmed from the smaller grains and uniform distribution of components, higher surface area, larger interface, better redox activity, faster oxygen desorption kinetics and better NO sorption capability. The catalytic mechanism was discussed based on the diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and kinetic study. This work demonstrates that the one-pot method is promising to synthesize high performance heterogeneous catalysts and the derived 5%BaCoO₃-CeO₂ is a competitive candidate for NO direct decomposition.