Boosting total oxidation of propane over CeO2@Co3O4 nanofiber catalysts prepared by multifluidic coaxial electrospinning with continuous grain boundary and fast lattice oxygen mobility

A one-dimensional (1D) core-shell of Co-Ce oxide has been prepared by multifluidic coaxial electrospinning method and evaluated for the total oxidation of propane (C3H8). Activity and morphological characterizations show that the CeO2@Co3O4 nanofiber catalyst, of which the core is CeO2 and the shell is Co3O4, exhibits excellent oxidation activity. The exposed Co3O4 grown on the outside of the fibers can rapidly react with C3H8 while CeO2 with high oxygen storage capacity in the inside is conductive to the enhanced oxidation rate. Besides, the continuous grain boundary provides a fast mass transfer channel for lattice oxygen, and rich oxygen vacancies favor the mobility of active oxygen species. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs) confirms that the CeO2@Co3O4 catalyst have a faster rate of C3H8 adsorption and better oxidation activity with respect to the counterpart using a single-needle electrospinning method. Moreover, the CeO2@Co3O4 catalyst displays excellent thermal stability, and strong resistance against 5 vol% H2O and 5 vol% CO2 at both 300 and 400 °C. Our strategy can give some new insights into morphological engineering to promote active oxygen mobility via the construction of one-dimensional core-shell of metal oxides for catalytic oxidation of VOCs. [Display omitted] •CeO2@Co3O4 nanofibers were prepared by multifluidic coaxial electrospinning.•Co3O4 shell rapidly reacts with C3H8 while CeO2 core enhances oxygen migration.•Continuous grain boundary provides a fast mass transfer channel for lattice oxygen.•Abundant oxygen vacancies favor the mobility of active lattice oxygen.•Superior oxidation activity, thermal stability and H2O/CO2 resistance were obtained.