Enhanced catalytic performance towards CO oxidation of broccoli-like Ceria microsphere by dilute Ga doping

The process of catalytically oxidizing carbon monoxide (CO) remains a critical issue across various industrial sectors. However, it continues to be a challenge to achieve effective CO oxidation at low temperatures using non-noble metal catalysts. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the effects of dilute gallium (Ga) doping on the catalytic performance of flower-like ceria (CeO₂) microspheres. By using a modified hydrothermal synthesis method, we prepared the Ga-doped CeO₂ microspheres and characterized their morphology, surface area, and evidence of oxygen vacancy through various experimental techniques as well as computational simulation method. Our findings disclosed that the incorporation of Ga significantly enhances the catalytic performance of CeO₂, with the optimal doping level (2 mol% Ga) achieving a 90% CO conversion temperature (T90) of 388.9 °C, obviously lower than that of pristine CeO₂ (488.5 °C). This work demonstrates that dilute Ga doping effectively improves the catalytic properties of CeO₂-based materials, offering a potential strategy for developing effective CO oxidation catalysts.