Nanostructured Ceria-Based Materials: Effect of the Hydrothermal Synthesis Conditions on the Structural Properties and Catalytic Activity

In this work, several nanostructured ceria catalysts were prepared by means of a hydrothermal procedure, in which the synthesis conditions (i.e., temperature and pH values) were varied. CeO2 samples of different shapes and structural properties were obtained, namely cubes, rods, cube and nanorod mixtures, and other polyhedra. The prepared materials were tested using four probe catalytic reactions: CO oxidation, NO oxidation, NOx-free soot oxidation, and NOx-assisted soot oxidation. The physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were studied by means of complementary techniques (i.e., XRD, N2-physisorption at −196 ◦C, CO-TPR (temperature-programmed reduction), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), micro-Raman spectroscopy). The abundance of defects of the catalysts, measured through in-situ Raman spectroscopy at the typical temperatures of each catalytic process, was correlated to the CO and NO oxidation activity of the prepared catalysts, while the soot oxidation reaction (performed in loose conditions), which was hindered by a poor soot-catalyst contact, was found to be less sensitive to the observed structural defects.