The Enhancement of CO Oxidation Performance and Stability in SO(2) and H(2)S Environment on Pd-Au/FeO(X)/Al(2)O(3) Catalysts

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, and toxic gas. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of CO causes poisoning and even death; therefore, CO removal is particularly important. Current research has focused on the efficient and rapid removal of CO via low-temperature (ambient) catalytic oxidation. Gold nanoparticles are widely used catalysts for the high-efficiency removal of high concentrations of CO at ambient temperature. However, easy poisoning and inactivation due to the presence of SO(2) and H(2)S affect its activity and practical application. In this study, a bimetallic catalyst, Pd-Au/FeO(x)/Al(2)O(3), with a Au:Pd ratio of 2:1 (wt%) was formed by adding Pd nanoparticles to a highly active Au/FeO(x)/Al(2)O(3) catalyst. Its analysis and characterisation proved that it has improved catalytic activity for CO oxidation and excellent stability. A total conversion of 2500 ppm of CO at −30 °C was achieved. Furthermore, at ambient temperature and a volume space velocity of 13,000 h(−1), 20,000 ppm CO was fully converted and maintained for 132 min. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and in situ FTIR analysis revealed that Pd-Au/FeO(x)/Al(2)O(3) exhibited stronger resistance to SO(2) and H(2)S adsorption than the Au/FeO(x)/Al(2)O(3) catalyst. This study provides a reference for the practical application of a CO catalyst with high performance and high environmental stability.