CuxCe1-xCy (x = 0.06, 0.13, and 0.23) were prepared by a solution combustion route using glycine as the fuel and tested for the catalytic combustion of dilute acetone in air. The structural characteristics of the catalysts were investigated by specific surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD). scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) techniques. The results reveal that the state of the CuO depends on the Cu/Ce molar ratio in the catalyst, which strongly influences the redox behavior and the catalytic activity of the sample. Among the three Catalysts, Cu0.13Ce0.87Oy was found to be the most active in the catalytic Combustion of acetone. The pulse reaction of pure acetone in the absence of O-2 Over the Cu0.13Ce0.87Oy catalyst indicated the participation of lattice oxygen from the catalyst in the acetone combustion. Furthermore, the effect of the acetone concentration and the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) on the catalytic behavior of the catalyst was examined. The stability of the Cu0.13Ce0.87Oy catalyst for acetone combustion was also investigated and an obvious deactivation was observed under the reactant stream for 35 h at 260 degrees C. XRD analysis of the deactivated catalyst showed that the formation of bulk CuO was responsible for the deactivation of the catalyst. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.