Support Effects in the Gold-Catalyzed Preferential Oxidation of CO

The study of support effects on the gold-catalyzed preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in the presence of hydrogen (PROX reaction) is possible only with careful control of the gold particle size, which is facilitated by the application of the direct anionic exchange method. Catalytic evaluation of thermally stable gold nanoparticles, with an average size of around 3 nm on a variety of supports (alumina, titania, zirconia, or ceria), clearly shows that the influence of the support on the CO oxidation rate is of primary importance under CO+O 2 conditions and that this influence becomes secondary in the presence of hydrogen. The impact of the support surface structure on the oxidation rates, catalyst selectivity, and catalyst activation/deactivation is investigated in terms of oxygen vacancies, oxygen mobility, OH groups, and surface area on the oxidation rates, catalyst selectivity and catalyst activation/deactivation. It allows the identification of key morphological and structural features of the support to ensure high activity and selectivity in the gold-catalyzed PROX reaction. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.