BackgroundAcetone is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is often associated with poor air quality. Acetone has chronic toxicity towards humans and has a significant impact on the overall atmospheric air quality. In this study, several layer double oxides (with M2+ = Mg, Ni, Co or Mn and M3+ = Al or Ce) were tested as catalysts for acetone oxidation. ResultsMnAl-LDO was found to be the most efficient catalyst. 50% acetone conversion was achieved at 170 degrees C (T-50%) and 90% conversion at 200 degrees C (T-90%).The incorporation of Ce on MnCeAl-LDO did not improve its catalytic properties over MnAl-LDO (the T-50% for MnCeAl-LDO was 12 degrees C higher than for MnAl-LDO). The good performance on MnAl-LDO was due to the presence of Mn3+ and the low reduction temperature. MnAl-LDO was not affected when water was introduced into the catalytic reaction setup. Less than 5% fluctuation in the acetone conversion rate at 170 and 200 degrees C was detected in the presence of 5.5% water. The incorporation of Ce on CoCeAl-LDO improved its catalytic performance over CoAl-LDO (T-50% of CoCeAl-LDO was 15 degrees C lower than CoAl-LDO). Our results showed that the good catalytic performance of CoCeAl-LDO was ascribed to the increased Co2+/Co3+ ratio and the abundance of lattice oxygen (O-latt). ConclusionMnAl-LDO has good catalytic properties for acetone oxidation, even under humid conditions. The LDO catalysts tested here can be developed into efficient catalysts for acetone oxidation and serve as functional materials for the reduction in acetone or VOC emission. (c) 2018 Society of Chemical Industry