Influence of the pretreatment conditions on the performances of CeO2-supported gold catalysts in the catalytic wet air oxidation of carboxylic acids

Two series of ceria-supported gold catalysts (1 and 4 wt.% Au) were prepared by deposition-precipitation with urea. Depending on the gold loading, the pretreatment of the Au/CeO2 catalysts (calcination in air vs. reduction in hydrogen) had a great influence on the oxidation state of gold, and in turn, on the activity of the Au/CeO2 catalysts in the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of model carboxylic acids. The higher the fraction in metallic gold is, the better the catalytic performances are. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.