Rational design of nanostructured, noble metal free, ceria–zirconia catalysts with outstanding low temperature oxygen storage capacity

On the basis of detailed previous knowledge about the correlation existing between the Oxygen Storage Capacity (OSC) of ceria–zirconia mixed oxides, the nature of redox pretreatments and the nanostructure of this family of complex materials, it has been possible to design a synthetic strategy allowing one to prepare ceria–zirconia and ceria–yttria-doped zirconia materials, with total ceria contents below 20%, featuring OSC values higher than those observed for catalysts which incorporate supported noble metal particles in their formulation, especially in the very low, 373–473 K, temperature range. These novel, noble-metal free and highly reducible, ceria–zirconia materials allow a much more efficient usage of ceria as a component of oxygen storage formulations, which is nowadays considered one of the key innovation targets in the field of lanthanide oxide based catalysts.