Influence of the exchanged cation in Pd/BEA and Pd/FAU zeolites for catalytic oxidation of VOCs

0.5wt% palladium supported on exchanged BEA and FAU zeolites were prepared, characterized and tested in the total oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The BEA and FAU zeolites were exchanged with different cations to study the influence of alkali metal cations (Na+, Cs+) and H+ in Pd-based catalysts on propene and toluene total oxidation. The exchange with different cations (Na+, Cs+) and H+ led to a decrease of the surface area and the micropore volume. All Pd/BEA and Pd/FAU zeolites were found to be powerful catalysts for the total oxidation of VOCs. They were active at low temperature and totally selective for CO2 and H2O. However, their activity depends significantly on the type of zeolite and on the nature of the charge-compensating cation. The activity order for propene and toluene oxidation on FAU catalysts, Pd/CsFAU>Pd/NaFAU>Pd/HFAU, is the reverse of the activity order on BEA catalysts: Pd/HBEA>Pd/NaBEA>Pd/CsBEA. The catalytic activities can be rationalized in terms of the influence of the electronegativity of the charge-compensating cation on the Pd particles, the Pd dispersion, the PdO reducibility and the adsorption energies for VOCs.