Activity of supported Au catalyst for preferential CO oxidation

Abstract

Preferential oxidation (PROX) of carbon monoxide is recognized to be the most suitable method to reduce the quantity of carbon monoxide in a H2-rich stream to an acceptable level for fuel cell applications. The aim of this research is to investigate the optimum condition of the prepared catalysts, Au/La-CeOx prepared by deposition-precipitation method, for PROX in the presence of H2. The effects of preparation parameters, such as support preparation method, drying method, gold loading, and calcination temperature, on the characteristic and catalytic activity of the catalysts were studied. The results showed that the Au/La-CeOx exhibited 90.9% CO conversion and 40.3% PROX selectivity at 100 ℃. However, by applying O2 pretreatment to the Au/La-CeOx catalyst at 120℃ for 30 minutes, the CO conversion and PROX selectivity increased to 95.6% and 40.8%, respectively.