Al-pillared clays supported rare earths (RE/Al-PILC) are prepared and used as supports of palladium catalysts for deep oxidation of low concentrations of benzene (130-160 ppm). The supports and catalysts are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, BET, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and temperature-programmed reduction (H-2-TPR). The results show that Al-pillaring results in a strong increase in the basal spacing (d(001)) from about 1.2 to 1.8 nm, and an increase in the BET surface area from 63.6 (+/- 3.2) to 238.8 (+/- 11.9) m(2)/g. Activity tests of deep oxidation of low concentration benzene show catalysts supported on Al-PILC and RE/Al-PILC are obviously more active than that on raw clay. Pd/6% Ce/Al-PILC, in particular, can catalyze the complete oxidation of low concentration benzene at a temperature as low as about 290 degrees C. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.