Co-doped LaAlO3 perovskite oxide for NOx-assisted soot oxidation

In the framework of nowadays challenges in the automotive catalysis, directed to the mitigation of pollution caused by the emissions of internal combustion engines, a series of LaAl1-xCoxO3 perovskites were investigated with the purpose of enhancing the oxidation of soot in the presence of NOx. Perovskite oxides LaAl1-xCoxO3 (x = 0; 0.25; 0.5; 0.75 and 1) were synthesized by a sol-gel route and characterized by different methods: X-Ray diffraction (XRD), H-2-temperature programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), N-2-sorption, O-2/NOx-temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The perovskite oxides were tested as catalysts for NO oxidation in isothermal mode and for NOx-assisted soot oxidation in temperature programmed reaction. Structural results reveal that Co is well incorporated in the perovskite structure expanding the unit cell, and doping Co may result in the distortion of the BO6 octahedra of the general ABO(3) perovskite structure. An increase in Co substitution with x up to 0.75 remarkably promotes the oxidation activity, whereas total replacement of Al by Co degrades the catalytic performance. Among the prepared solids, LaAl0.25Co0.75O3 is the most active for NO oxidation, with a conversion of 78% at 320 degrees C, and it also exhibits the highest activity for NOx-assisted soot oxidation, with a T(10% )of 377 degrees C while maintaining high NO2 production (71%). The outstanding performance of LaAl0.25Co0.75O3 is associated with the high mobility of lattice oxygen species and the role of surface adsorbed oxygen seems not to be prominent. The strong correlation of catalytic activity with NOx-TPD profiles suggests that NOx adsorption on catalyst surface is an essential step in soot oxidation. It is also shown that higher calcination temperature promotes the crystallinity of perovskite phase and leads to the improvement in the catalytic activity. The present work indicates that the prepared perovskite catalysts are competitive with noble-metal rivals for NOx-assisted soot oxidation and outperform them in NO2 production for further NOx abatement.