Highly Efficient Au/ZnO−ZrO2 Catalysts for CO Oxidation at Low Temperature

Abstract

A series of gold catalysts on ZnO−ZrO2 featuring nominal ZnO loads of 3, 5, and 10 wt. % were synthesized by the sol–gel method using Zn(NO3)2 and zirconium (IV) propoxide aqueous solutions. In addition, gold catalysts with nominal loads between 1 and 3 wt. % were produced by the method of deposition-precipitation with urea, and their performance in the CO oxidation reaction at low temperature was evaluated. HRTEM outcomes revealed high gold dispersion on the 3Au/5ZnO−ZrO2 catalyst with Zn/Zr atomic ratio of (5/95) and 3 wt. % of gold, which showed the highest CO conversion at low temperature (−5 °C) under air treatment when the CO oxidation was carried out with a space velocity of ~46,000 h−1. The incorporation of ZnO to ZrO2 provoked high dispersion of the gold nanoparticles on the support and close size distribution; moreover, the presence of Au1+ and Zr3+ species was increased by the Zr−O−Zn interaction, which was stronger than in the single Au/ZrO2 and Au/ZnO catalysts. DRIFT/GC−MS confirmed that the Au1+/Au0 ratio and formation of carbonate species played an important role in determining the CO conversion; likewise, the 3Au/5ZnO–ZrO2 catalyst was stable at 10 °C for 24 h.