Boosting propene oxidation activity over LaFeO3 perovskite catalysts by cobalt substitution.

To develop robust and cost-effective catalysts for propene total oxidation, LaFe 1−x Co x O 3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 1) perovskites were prepared via a citrate sol-gel method. XRD, FTIR and Raman analyses suggested that after cobalt substitution, the LaFeO 3 structure was well maintained, whereas abundant lattice distortions were generated accompanied by weaker Fe−O bond. H 2 -TPR and O 2 -TPD results demonstrated that cobalt incorporation led to better reducibility and higher oxygen mobility of the oxides. The propene oxidation activity of the catalysts was found to increase with the cobalt content, which correlated well with the amount of surface-active oxygen species. The optimal catalyst LaFe 0.8 Co 0.2 O 3 presented comparable activity to LaCoO 3 at much lower cost. Moreover, it showed excellent cyclability (6 cycles) and stability (35 h), decent performance at high space velocity (24,0000 mL g–1 h–1) or in the presence of 5 vol% water, thereby being a promising candidate for industrial application. [Display omitted] • Substitute Fe by Co in LaFeO 3 to obtain cost-effective perovskite catalysts for C 3 H 6 oxidation. • Enhanced activity due to better reducibility and higher oxygen mobility. • A linear relationship between C 3 H 6 oxidation activity and Co content. • LaFe 0.8 Co 0.2 O 3 shows decent stability and good water resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]