International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.40, No.34, 11254-11260, 2015
Characterization and performance in preferential oxidation of CO of CuO-CeO2 catalysts synthesized using polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA) as template
CuO-CeO2 catalysts have been synthesized using polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA) microspheres as template and copper and cerium acetates as precursors, leading to a homogeneous porous framework of nanocrystalline materials with uniform pore size distribution and well dispersed copper species between 1 and 9 wt.%. The catalysts have been characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, adsorption-desorption of N-2 at-196 degrees C, thermoprogrammed reduction with H-2 (H-2-TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). CuO-CeO2 catalysts have been evaluated in the CO-PROX reaction, reaching high conversion values (>95%) at 115 degrees C for all samples. Moreover, these catalysts have been tested under high content of CO2 and H2O in the feed, simulating a CO-PROX unit, obtaining conversion efficiency values higher than 90% at 115 degrees C, which indicates a high tolerance of the catalysts in both CO2 and H2O gases. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.