Synthesis of highly dispersed MnCeOx catalysts via a novel “redox-precipitation” route

A new synthesis route driving redox-precipitation reactions among Mn{sup VII}, Ce{sup III} and Mn{sup II} precursors in basic aqueous solution yields MnCeO{sub x} catalysts (Mn loading, 9-33 wt%) with improved textural and structural properties in comparison to the conventional co-precipitation technique. Irrespective of the Mn loading, BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) findings prove that the new method ensures a very high reproducibility in all the main physico-chemical properties of MnCeO{sub x} catalysts. Enabling a monolayer dispersion of the active phase, the 'redox-precipitation' method greatly promotes the reducibility and the surface affinity of the MnCeO{sub x} system towards gas-phase oxygen.