Low Temperature Catalytic Combustion of Ethanol over Pt/γ-Al2O3/CexZr1-xO2 Honeycomb Catalysts

It has been found that the catalytic activity toward the decomposition of ethanol in a fix bed reactor can be greatly improved by loading Pt on the surface of CexZr1-xO2. In this study, we have investigated the effects of different x of Pt/γ-Al2O3/CexZr1-xO2 on the catalytic activity of catalysts. The prepared catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, and TPR. The BET surface areas of the catalysts decreased with x decreasing. XRD results reveal that deposited Pt dispersed on the CexZr1-xO2 and γ-Al2O3 matrix. The order of catalytic activities is Pt/γ-Al2O3/ Ce0.5Zr0.5O2〉Pt/γ-Al2O3/Ce0.25Zr0.75O2〉Pt/γ-Al2O3/Ce0.75Zr0.26O2〉Pt/γ-Al2O3/CeO2〉Pt/γ-Al2O3/ZrO2. Among the catalysts, the reduction peak area of Pt/γ-Al2O3/Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 is the largest and the oxygen mobility is noticeably promoted, which is in good harmony with the catalytic activity. Incorporation of ZrO2 into the CeO2 lattice considerably decreases the destruction temperature for ethanol. Based on these observations, the mechanistic role of oxygen mobility in the oxidation reaction has been suggested.