CeO2-La2O3 catalytic system. Part I. Preparation and characterisation of catalysts

The CeO2-La2O3 catalytic system was prepared by a sol-gel technique from inorganic precursors in the presence or absence of H2O2. Samples were characterised by means of nitrogen physisorption, TG-DTA, XRD, IR, XPS and TEM. Preparation via sol-gel in the presence of H2O2 produces certain interesting modifications in CeO2-La2O3, both structurally and morphologically. Higher surface areas have been found for the CeO2-La2O3 system prepared in the presence of H2O2. On the other hand, for La2O3 the structure obtained upon calcination at 873 K corresponds to La(OH)(3), and for the system prepared with hydrogen peroxide, to a mixture of La(OH)(3), and La2O3 which was detected by XRD. Interesting morphological differences were observed for both systems.