Copper-cerium oxide catalysts for the selective oxidation of carbon monoxide in hydrogen-containing mixtures: II. Physicochemical characterization of the catalysts

The copper-cerium oxide catalysts were characterized using a set of physicochemical techniques including in situ FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, and XRD. It was found that copper segregated on the surface of cerium oxide and its states were labile and dependent on catalyst pretreatment conditions. Copper in a dispersed state was responsible for the reaction of CO oxidation in the presence of H 2 on the copper-cerium oxide catalysts. It is likely that this state of copper was composed of two-dimensional or three-dimensional surface clusters containing Cu + ions.