In Situ Reconstruction of Active Heterointerface for Hydrocarbon Combustion through Thermal Aging over Strontium-Modified Co₃O₄ Nanocatalyst with Good Sintering Resistance

The issue of catalyst deactivation due to sintering has gained significant attention alongside the rapid advancement of thermal catalysts. In this work, a simple Sr modification strategy was applied to achieve highly active Co3O4-based nanocatalyst for catalytic combustion of hydrocarbons with excellent antisintering feature. With the Co1Sr0.3 catalyst achieving a 90% propane conversion temperature (T-90) of only 289 degrees C at a w8 hly space velocity of 60,000 mLg(-1)h(-1), 24 degrees C lower than that of pure Co3O4. Moreover, the sintering resistance of Co3O4 catalysts was greatly improved by SrCO3 modification, and the T-90 over Co1Sr0.3 just increased from 289 to 337 degrees C after thermal aging at 750 degrees C for 100 h, while that over pure Co3O4 catalysts increased from 313 to 412 degrees C. Through strontium modification, a certain amount of SrCO3 was introduced on the Co3O4 catalyst, which can serve as a physical barrier during the thermal aging process and further formation of Sr-Co perovskite nanocrystals, thus preventing the aggregation growth of Co3O4 nanocrystals and generating new active SrCoO2.52-Co3O4 heterointerface. In addition, propane durability tests of the Co1Sr0.3 catalysts showed strong water vapor resistance and stability, as well as excellent low-temperature activity and resistance to sintering in the oxidation reactions of other typical hydrocarbons such as toluene and propylene. This study provides a general strategy for achieving thermal catalysts by perfectly combining both highly low-temperature activity and sintering resistance, which will have great significance in practical applications for replacing precious materials with comparative features.