Facile synthesis of porous spherical La0.8Sr0.2Mn1−xCuxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) and nanocubic La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 with high catalytic activity for CO

A molten salt method has been used to prepare porous La0.8Sr0.2Mn1−xCuxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) (LSMC-X) microspheres and La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) nanocubes using spherical and cubic MnCO3 as templates, respectively. XRD patterns showed a single perovskite phase when the Cu content was less than x = 0.3. SEM and TEM images indicated that the porous microspheres comprised many aggregated nanoparticles, while the nanocubes were solid with a smooth surface. LSM and LSMC-0 samples both possessed high surface areas (63.5045 and 49.6504 m2 g−1, respectively). Furthermore, the CO conversions showed that LSMC-0.2 had the best catalytic activity (T50 = 83.63 °C, T90 = 97.40 °C) and good stability. XPS analysis confirmed that Cu2+ doping induced Mn4+ formation and slight changes in the oxygen species, leading to different catalytic activity. Owing to their facile synthesis and high catalytic performance, we propose that these porous spherical La0.8Sr0.2Mn1−xCuxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) and nanocubic La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 catalysts are promising candidates for CO oxidation.