The influence of partial substitution of Ce with K in CeMO3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) perovskite catalysts on soot combustion performance

A series of Ce1−xKxMO3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) perovskite catalysts were synthesized by citrate sol-gel method, in which A-site element Ce was partially substituted with K. The results showed that the catalytic performance could be significantly improved by partially substituting of Ce with K in CeCoO3 catalyst for soot combustion. Ce0.8K0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst exhibited a superior catalytic activity, and its corresponding T10, T50, T90 and SmCO2 were 326, 383, 426 °C and 98.6%, respectively. The characterization results indicated that K+ had been successfully incorporated in the perovskite crystal structure. Partially substituting of Ce with K resulted in an increase in specific surface area. It also resulted in the formation of Co4+ in the perovskite catalysts together with abundant presence of oxygen vacancies on the surface. Moreover, it was of great significance to facilitate the activation of lattice oxygen species. In situ DRIFTS result showed that NO2 produced by thermal decomposition of monodentate nitrate species played a key role in soot combustion process.