Redispersion of cobalt particles supported on titanium dioxide

Abstract

The particle size of cobalt in a Co/TiO₂ catalyst increased with increasing reduction temperature up to 600 °C. At 700 °C, where the phase transformation of TiO₂ from anatase to rutile occurred, the cobalt particles redispersed to individual crystallites. This redispersion has been confirmed by measuring the specific activity of the cobalt catalyst for the hydrogenation of propene. The relation between the phase transformation of TiO₂ and the redispersion of cobalt has been studied kinetically using high-temperature X-ray diffraction spectroscopy.