CO self-sustained catalytic combustion over morphological inverse model CeO2/Cu2O catalysts exposing (1 0 0), (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) planes

CO self-sustaining catalytic combustion tends to be one of potential means to achieve efficient conversion of off-gases from steelmaking. Building model catalysts to investigate the reaction process academically is essential to design optimized catalysts and Cu2O exposing (1 0 0), (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) planes are excellent materials. Herein, morphological CeO2/Cu2O inverse model catalysts were synthesized to reveal the synergistic effect and reaction mechanism. It is demonstrated that the ignition temperature is lowered on the interface by synergistic effect, which dominates the ignition, while the combustion after ignition is controlled by Cu2O planes providing abundant lattice oxygen to react with CO. Additionally, exposure of different planes plays a significant role in the reaction since O-termination on (1 0 0) inhibits the interaction, whereas Cu-termination on (1 1 0) surface structure and coordinately unsaturated Cu+ on open (1 1 1) surface respectively contribute to their superior catalytic performance. [Display omitted] ●Inverse model CeO2/Cu2O catalysts with regular morphology were successfully prepared.●Synergistic effect on Cu-Ce interface lowered ignition temperature, dominating the ignition.●The catalytic activity and synergistic effect vary among planes with (1 1 1) performing the best.●Exposure of crystal planes with higher activity assists in designing optimized catalysts.