Promotion of Cobalt Oxide Catalysts by Acid-Etching and Ruthenium Incorporation for Chlorinated VOC Oxidation.

In this work, Ru-promoted cobalt oxide catalysts with a nanotube morphology were prepared by a synthesis route based on the Kirkendall effect followed by an acid treatment and subsequent optimized Ru impregnation. The resulting samples were thoroughly characterized by means of N physisorption, X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed techniques (O-temperature-programmed desorption, H-temperature-programmed reduction, and temperature-programmed oxidation) and evaluated in the gas-phase oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane. It has been demonstrated that Ru addition improves the oxygen mobility as well as the amount of Co and O species at the surface by the formation of the Ru-O-Co bond, which in turn governs the performance of the catalysts in the oxidation reaction.