CuO catalysts supported on ZrO 2 -doped TiO 2 (hereafter denoted as TZ) and pure anatase TiO 2 were characterized by HRTEM, XRD, UV–vis DRS, TPR, XPS, in situ FT-IR and activity test for the removal of NO by CO. The results indicate that: (1) CuO species can be highly dispersed on the surface of TZ support, and the dispersion capacity (DC) is about 1.1mmol/100m 2 TZ, which can be explained by the incorporation model. (2) The reduction temperature of CuO supported on TZ is lower than that supported on pure anatase TiO 2 , ZrO 2 and ZrO 2 surface-modified anatase TiO 2 supports. Furthermore, the activity of Cu-TZ is also the highest among them measured by a relative turn over frequency (TOF) value of NO. (3) The ZrO 2 doping into TiO 2 improves the adsorption stability of NO x (especially the bridged nitrate/nitro) and decreases the active temperature of Cu + –CO species, both of which are the key intermediates for NO conversion. On the other hand, the ZrO 2 doping into TiO 2 promotes the formation of Cu + /Cu 0 species at high temperatures, which has a crucial effect on N 2 O reduction.
