CuO Nanorods-Decorated Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocatalysts for Catalytic Oxidation of CO

Developing an efficient non-noble catalyst for CO oxidation with high catalytic activity remains a challenge for practical applications. In this work, CuO nanorods decorated reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocatalysts were prepared via a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The analysis results show that CuO nanorods were successfully deposited on the surface of RGO sheets with the length of 250–500 nm. The catalytic properties of the as-prepared catalysts for CO oxidation were evaluated by using a microreactor-gas chromatograph (GC) system. The as-prepared RGO–CuO nanocatalysts exhibited high activity for CO oxidation, and the 10 wt % reduced graphene oxide content catalyst can achieve CO total oxidation at 165 ◦C.