Résumé
The development of advanced catalysts to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is of significant environmental and economic importance. In this work, toluene was chosen as a representative of VOCs because of its high toxicity to human health. Silver-based catalysts Ag/ZrO 2 and Ag/Ce-ZrO 2 with 2 wt.% Ag and 10 wt. % Ce were prepared for the low temperature total oxidation of toluene (C 7 H 8) in the presence of water vapor. The effect of cerium species on physicochemical properties and catalytic activity in the toluene oxidation of mesoporous catalysts were investigated. The new Ag/Ce-ZrO 2 material possesses the highest catalytic activity in the total oxidation of toluene at low temperature in comparison to Ag/ZrO 2. 100% C 7 H 8 conversion to CO 2 is achieved between 300 and 550 °C. It reveals that the oxygen species presented in Ag/Ce-ZrO 2 are the key factor in toluene oxidation. Silver species increases the amount of surface lattice oxygen species and leads to the migration of lattice oxygen, which effectively facilitates the low-temperature conversion of toluene oxidation.