Partial oxidation of methanol over Au/CeO2–ZrO2 and Au/CeO2–ZrO2–TiO2 catalysts

Abstract

Experimental data on hydrogen production via a partial oxidation of methanol (POM) reaction on Au/ZrO₂, Au/CeO₂–ZrO₂ and Au/CeO₂–ZrO₂–TiO₂ catalysts is presented in this article. The gold catalysts were prepared by a deposition–precipitation (DP) method and characterized by XRF, XRD, H₂-TPR, XPS methods N₂ adsorption. The activity results show that the catalyst containing 1 wt% gold supported on a CeO₂–ZrO₂ carrier demonstrates very good hydrogen selectivity and the highest catalytic activity among all tested catalysts. The optimal working temperature established was 375 °C. At this temperature 75.5% hydrogen selectivity was registered. The presence of oxidized gold in the catalyst's composition as well as the support redox properties are the major factors controlling the observed catalytic activity.