Recent work in our laboratory shows that addition of La to gamma alumina not only helps to stabilize the alumina, but also increases the rate of CO oxidation.  We find that the increase in activity can be related to the onset of CO oxidation occurring at lower temperatures on the La-alumina support.  A portion of the Pd is not susceptible to poisoning by CO, and can be readily oxidized and reduced at low temperatures.  Aberration corrected STEM reveals the presence of sub-nanometer Pd particles and even isolated atoms on the alumina surface.  In situ XAS and DRIFTS provide data supporting a two phase model, indicating that the catalyst consists of a particulate Pd phase and a dispersed Pd phase. The dynamics of the redox behavior of Pd helps us understand the role of the La promoter in this system.

Improved CO oxidation performance due to facile redox behavior of Pd supported on La-alumina

245th National Meeting (2013)

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