Variation in Metal–Support Interaction with TiO(2) Loading and Synthesis Conditions for Pt-Ti/SBA-15 Active Catalysts in Methane Combustion

The control of catalytic performance using synthesis conditions is one of the main goals of catalytic research. Two series of Pt-Ti/SBA-15 catalysts with different TiO(2) percentages (n = 1, 5, 10, 30 wt.%) were obtained from tetrabutylorthotitanate (TBOT) and peroxotitanate (PT), as titania precursors and Pt impregnation. The obtained catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N(2) sorption, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H(2)-TPR) and H(2)-chemisorption measurements. Raman spectroscopy showed framework titanium species in low TiO(2) loading samples. The anatase phase was evidenced for samples with higher titania loading, obtained from TBOT, and a mixture of rutile and anatase for those synthesized by PT. The rutile phase prevails in rich TiO(2) catalysts obtained from PT. Variable concentrations of Pt(0) as a result of the stronger interaction of PtO with anatase and the weaker interaction with rutile were depicted using XPS. TiO(2) loading and precursors influenced the concentration of Pt species, while the effect on Pt nanoparticles’ size and uniform distribution on support was insignificant. The Pt/PtO ratio and their concentration on the surface were the result of strong metal–support interaction, and this influenced catalytic performance in the complete oxidation of methane at a low temperature. The highest conversion was obtained for sample prepared from PT with 30% TiO(2).