CERIUM

„The investigation of self-regenerative phenomenon of nanocrystalline  catalyst based on cerium oxide”
(acronym: CERIUM)

Project supported by the National Science Centre, Poland under the „SONATA 10” programme

Total cost: 432 200,00 PLN
Centre Contribution: 80 000,00 PLN
Duration: 08/11/2016 – 07/11/2019

Principal Investigator: dr Sebastian Arabasz
Project Consortium:

1. Instytut Niskich Temperatur i Badań Strukturalnych im Włodzimierza Trzebiatowskiego PAN – Consortium Leader
2. Wrocławskie Centrum Badań EIT+ Sp. z o.o.

The aim of the project is to produce new oxide catalysts which will have the self-regeneration ability, as well as to investigate the microscopic mechanism of this phenomenon. It was found that certain complex oxides having fluorite structure Ce1-xMxO2-y (M- Pd, Rh) have the ability to adapt their microstructure to the prevailing conditions. In a reducing atmosphere segregation of noble metal nanoparticles occurs on the Ce1-xMxO2-y oxide surface while under oxidizing conditions the noble metal atoms diffused back to the cerium oxide lattice. In this project the following hypotheses have been proposed. Firstly, the presence of defects in a mixed oxide lattice will promote the self-regeneration process. Secondly, additional doping with catalytically less active elements than precious metals will produce defects stable under the conditions required for the occurrence of selfregeneration process. Thirdly, the condition of self-regeneration occurrence is the strong interaction between an oxidized noble metal species with defected mixed oxide surface which unable to growth tree-dimensional noble metal oxide particles. Within the project it is intended to examine in detail the phenomenon of the selfregeneration in the newly received Ce1-xMxO2-y systems (also containing two different dopant) also using in situ methods in conditions corresponding to the real catalytic reactions.