Abstract: A urea combustion method was employed for the preparation of the Cu-Ce-O catalyst without the need for a binder or additional calcination steps. The catalytic performance of the catalyst for preferential oxidation of CO was investigated under dry and humid feed gas conditions, and the catalyst was also examined for CO removal at the operating temperature of the PEMFC anode. A 99.3%CO conversion and 75% selectivity for CO2 could be achieved at 130 ℃ in the presence of H2O and CO2. The results of XRD and SEM characterizations indicated that copper oxides were highly dispersed on the catalyst and formed nanoparticles.

Key words: copper oxide, cerium oxide, carbon monoxide, preferential oxidation, moist gas, urea combustion