CeO2 is known to catalyze many reactions including dehydrogenation, dehydration, ketonization, condensation and coupling reactions. The redox and acid-base properties of ceria, either alone or in the presence of transition metals, make it effective for activating organic molecules. Advances in nanomaterials synthesis have made it possible to synthesize CeO2 nanocrystals with uniform polyhedral morphologies (cubes, octahedra and rods) and therefore high surface areas yet crystallographically defined surface terminations. These nanoshapes provide the opportunity to compare structure dependence in catalytic reactions and also the ability to make direct comparisons with surface chemistry studies on oriented surfaces. We have investigated the adsorption and reactions of methanol, ethanol and acetaldehyde, over ceria nanoshapes. In this talk I will discuss our work to utilize this approach to understand reaction pathways and structure function relationships in oxide catalysis.

Structure sensitivity and reaction pathways in oxygenate reactions catalyzed by CeO2

249th National Meeting (2015)

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