The use of CeO2 and CeO2-containing materials as a component of heterogeneous industrial catalysts or as a support for transition metals is based on superior chemical and physical stability, high oxygen mobility and high oxygen vacancy concentrations, which are characteristic for the fluorite-type oxides (economically and technologically most important application is the use of ceria in the thr...

Levulinic acid (LA), 4-oxo-pentanoic acid, is a new platform chemical with various potential uses. In this paper, catalytic hydrogenation and oxidation of levulinic acid were studied. It was shown from experiments that levulinic acid can be hydrogenated to γ-valerolactone (GVL) over transition metal catalysts and oxidative-decarboxylated to 2-butanone (methyl-ethyl-ketone, MEK) and methyl-vinyl...

Waste management generated from a Chemical-Looping Combustion (CLC) plant using copper-based materials is analyzed by two ways: the recovery and recycling of the used material and the disposal of the waste. A copper recovery process coupled to the CLC plant is proposed to avoid the loss of active material generated by elutriation from the system. Solid residues obtained from a 10 kWth CLC proto...

The atomic scale homogeneity of Ce and Zr oxygen bonds represents the main reason for enhanced total oxygen storage capability of CeO2-ZrO2 (Ce/Zr = 1) as compared to that of CeO2. Here, we demonstrate that the addition of 10% Eu(3+) by wet impregnation on preformed nanosized CeO2-ZrO2 (Ce/Zr = 1) followed by calcination induces a remarkable homogeneity of 10% Eu(3+)-CeO2-ZrO2 solid solution. B...

A novel ternary Punica granatum L-Cu/Cu2O/CuO/ZnO nanocomposite was successfully synthesised via green route. In this work, we demonstrate that the green synthesis of metal oxides is more viable and facile compare to other methods, i.e., physical and chemical routes while presenting a potential electrode for energy applications. The prepared nanocomposite was characterised by both microscopic a...

This paper reports the synthesis of CeO2/ZrO2 nanocomposite by wet chemical method using cationic surfactant (CTAB). The properties of the obtained nanocomposites were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscoy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectrosco...

We report a simple yet effective approach for the decoration of the TiO2 nanocrystal surface with size-tunable CuO nanodots for high-performance noble metal-free photocatalytic H2 production. Modification with polyacrylic acid enables the surface of TiO2 nanocrystals to be selectively deposited with Cu(OH)2 nanodots, which can be subsequently converted to CuO through dehydration without changin...

Noble metal Ag nanoparticles with unique surface plasmon resonance property have attracted much attention recently in the field of photocatalysis. Based on the advantages of Ag nanoparticles and semiconductor CeO2, a novel plasmonic photocatalyst Ag-AgCl/CeO2 was prepared with a facile route. The as-prepared samples were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray p...

In this paper, CuO nanoparticles are synthesized using Tilia platyphyllos extract as reducing and stabilizing agents and TiO2are prepared via facile sol-gel method as an ideal support. FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used to characte...