Fully reversible metal deactivation effects in Au/Ceria-Zirconia catalysts. Role of the support redox state

JOSE MARIA CIES; ELOY DEL RIO; MIGUEL LOPEZ-HARO; JUAN JOSÉ DELGADO; GINESA BLANCO; SEBASTIAN COLLINS; MIGUEL CAUQUI; JOSÉ CALVINO; SERAFÍN BERNAL

Congreso; Europacat X 2011; 2011

Gold nano-particles supported on reducible oxides have attracted the attention of the research community due to their exceptional activity for CO oxidation, low-temperature water gas shift (LT-WGS), and selective oxidation of CO in the presence of a large excess of hydrogen (PROX) [1]. In spite of the intensive research efforts focused on the characterization of these catalysts, there is still a number of key questions about the nano-structural constitution and chemical properties of the gold sites involved in the reactions above requiring some further clarification. The effect of the support redox state in the chemical properties of gold nano-particles is one of these major open questions [2]. It is obvious the importance of this point to fully interpret the catalytic activity of Au/Reducible Oxide systems under different operation conditions (reducing or oxidizing). In addition, this information would be eventually useful to design new catalysts with tailored properties depending on the operation conditions.