Catalytic activity boost of CeO2/Co3O4 nanospheres derived from CeCo-glycolate via yolk–shell structural evolution

Abstract

CeO₂/Co₃O₄ hybrid nanospheres have been successfully prepared via the thermal decomposition of CeCo-glycolate precursors. The sizes of CeCo-glycolate precursors and also their derived CeO₂/Co₃O₄ nanospheres could be easily tuned by varying the feeding molar ratio of Ce/Co ions. The following heat treatment strongly determines the inner fine structures of CeO₂/Co₃O₄ nanospheres, including the solid and yolk–shell ones. The as-prepared yolk–shell structured CeO₂/Co₃O₄ sample has shown greatly enhanced activity towards catalytic CO oxidation compared to the other catalysts. Moreover, systematic characterization studies have been conducted to disclose the possible reaction pathway that is beneficial for boosting the performance of CeO₂/Co₃O₄ catalysts.