Design of low-temperature Pt-carbon combustion catalysts for VOC's treatments

Two series of Pt/C-catalysts were prepared using pure carbon aerogels as supports. The influence of porosity, surface chemistry and Pt dispersion on the activity of Pt/C combustion catalysts was analyzed. The synthesis of the supports was fitted to have a monomodal pore size distribution in the meso and macropore range respectively. Both supports were functionalized by oxidation treatment with H 2O 2 or (NH 4) 2S 2O 8. These treatments did not modify the porosity significantly, but the surface chemistry changed from basic to acid as oxygen content increased. In this way, Pt-dispersion decreased as a result of the low thermal stability of surface carboxylic acid groups. Benzene was selected as target VOCs and the catalytic combustion performance depended mainly on the porous texture and Pt-dispersion, while the variations in the surface chemistry of carbon supports due to oxidation treatments seemed to have a weak influence on this kind of reaction.