A facilitated synthesis of hierarchically porous Cu–Ce–Zr catalyst using bacterial cellulose for VOCs oxidation

Highly active CuO–CeO2–ZrO2 catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method, using environmentally friendly bacterial cellulose (BC) as structure directing regent. The catalyst designed with commercial BC (Com-BC) exhibited catalytic performances in toluene (T100 = 220 °C) and ethyl acetate oxidation (T100 = 170 °C) superior to the catalysts prepared by traditional methods. Furthermore, excellent stability was obtained and no deactivation was observed during the 100 h on stream in toluene and ethyl acetate oxidation at T100. The excellent activity and stability of Com-BC can be explained by the hierarchically porous structure, abundant oxygen vacancies, and good reducibility. •Highly active CuO–CeO2–ZrO2 catalyst was prepared with bacterial cellulose.•Com-BC prepared with commercial BC exhibits excellent activity and stability for VOCs oxidation.•Hierarchically porous structure, abundant oxygen vacancies, and good reducibility lead to high activity of Com-BC.