Research progress on preparation of cerium-based oxide catalysts with specific morphology and their application for purification of diesel engine exhaust

The elimination of pollutants from diesel exhaust has received widespread research attention as they cause serious air pollution and pose a threat to human health.Catalytic post-treatment technology is one of the most effective and universal technologies to treat diesel exhaust pollutants.The design and development of efficient and low-cost catalysts is the key factor to realize the wide application of catalytic post-treatment technology.Cerium(Ce)-based oxides with specific morphologies are widely used to eliminate pollutants in diesel vehicle exhaust due to their unique physical and chemical properties,such as high catalytic activity,low cost and non-toxicity.In this review,the preparation methods of Cebased oxide materials with specific morphologies,such as nanoparticles,nanocubes,nanorods,nanofibers,and multi-stage pores,are introduced in detail,and the research progress on using these catalysts for the removal of carbon monoxide,hydrocarbons,soot particles,nitrogen oxides,and other pollutants from diesel exhaust is reviewed in detail.Finally,the unresolved issues associated with using Ce-based oxide catalysts with a specific morphology to catalytically remove pollutants from diesel exhaust are highlighted,and future application prospects and development directions are discussed.

Fabrication of ZnO with tunable morphology through a facile treatment of Zn-based coordination polymers

The morphology and structure of zinc oxide(ZnO), one of the important semiconductors, are relevant to its properties and applications. The preparation of ZnO with tunable morphology and desired structure is an attractive topic in the field of material synthesis. This work reports a facile method for the synthesis of Zn O with controllable morphology and crystal orientation using Zn-based coordination polymer particles(Zn-CPP) as precursors. Using hydrothermal method, Zn-CPP with morphologies of microrod, nanoplate, flower-like, arrow-tipped microsheet, and square cylinder were successfully synthesized via the coordination between metal ions Zn2+ and organic ligand 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride in aqueous solution. Subsequent thermal treatment of the Zn-CPP successfully resulted in the formation of porous Zn O with similar morphology to Zn-CPP. It is also found that the Zn O with enhanced(002) orientation could be obtained from Zn-CPP with preferred(002) orientation. This strategy could be extended for the preparation of other metal oxides with desired shape and structure.