The catalytic combustion of toluene over tin oxide-supported metal catalysts (Pt/SnO2 Pd/SnO2 Ru/SnO2 and Rh/SnO2) was studied As a result the Pt/SnO2 catalyst exhibited the highest activity The activity of Pt/SnO2 catalyst is expected to originate from the strong chemical interaction between platinum and tin oxide The correlation between the nano-structure and catalytic activity in the oxidation of ethyl acetate was investigated for the Pt/SnO2 catalysts treated under a reducing or an oxidative atmosphere For the transmission electron microscopy image of the as-calcined Pt/SnO2 catalyst the fine particles composed of platinum species was highly dispersed on the surface of SnO2 support After the reduction treatment at 400 C the peculiar core-shell structure was formed It is noted that the particles with this structure disappeared by the reoxidation treatment in air and the redispersion of nano-particles was confirmed The particles with the core-shell structure were observed again after the second reduction treatment for the reoxidized catalyst The catalytic activities of ethyl acetate combustion over Pt/SnO2 catalysts were deteriorated and activated corresponding to the nano-structural changes induced by the reduction-oxidation treatments (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved