Energy Production, Decontamination, and Hydrogenation Reactions over Perovskite-Type Oxide Catalyst

Heterogeneous catalysis is an important tool in industrial processes because of the recoverability of the catalysts. Transition metal perovskites-type oxides, with the general formula ABO3, offer attractive alternative to noble metal catalysts due to their high activity, high thermal stability, and low cost. Moreover, their physicochemical properties can be tailored to create a family of catalysts by varying the compositions of A and B. Indeed, the partial substitution at the A- and/or B-site with another metal cation stabilizes unusual oxidation states of the B cation with the simultaneous formation of structural defects. In particular, lanthanum-based perovskites have been used extensively and can be grouped into: (i) perovskites with oxygen vacancies as catalysts for oxidation reactions and (ii) perovskites as precursors to prepare nanosized catalysts for hydrogenation reactions. This chapter focuses on the use of pure and doped lanthanum perovskites as active and selective heterogeneous catalysts for catalytic energy production reaction (DME combustion), decontamination reactions (methane, acetyl acetate, toluene, n-hexane, and soot combustion), and hydrogenation reactions (guaiacol, glycerol, and xylose hydrogenation).