Research progress in synthesis and catalytic application of carbon/metal oxide composites

Carbon materials and metal oxides are commonly used heterogeneous catalyst supports. Among them, carbon materials have large specific surface area and good adsorption performance, but poor mechanical properties. Metal oxide supports have good mechanical and thermal stability, but they usually have a strong interaction with active metals leading to lower catalytic activity. As a new type of material, carbon/metal oxide composites have attracted extensive attention from scientists. Because of the synergistic effect between carbon and metal oxides (such as titania, alumina, etc.), the composites exhibit unique physical and chemical properties different from a single component. In this review, the preparation methods of the composites and the research progress in the field of catalysis in recent years are summarized.