Effect of LaFeO3 Decoration and Ozone Treatment on Thermal Stability of Au/Al2O3 for CO Oxidation

The 1.1%Au/LaFeO_x/Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by the iso-volume impregnation method and activated with H₂ or O₃. The catalytic performance for CO oxidation at room temperature was investigated by accelerated deactivation tests in 1.0% CO reactant stream at 550 °C. The introduction of La and Fe enhanced the thermal stability of Au/Al₂O₃ with a decrease in initial activity, probably due to the formation of LaFeO₃ perovskite on the Al₂O₃ surface. The 1.1%Au/2%LaFeO₃/Al₂O₃ catalyst activated by H₂ can transform 65% CO into CO₂ at room temperature after pretreatment in 1.0% CO reactant stream at 550 °C for 2 h, whereas 1.1%Au/Al₂O₃ activated by H₂ totally loses its activity. O₃ activation can always make 1.1%Au/LaFeO₃/Al₂O₃ more active than that of H₂ activation during the pretreatment process in 1.0% CO. After pretreatment for 10 h, 1.1%Au/2%LaFeO₃/Al₂O₃ activated by O₃ still shows 40% conversion of 1.0% CO at room temperature, whereas those activated by H₂ become inactive completely. The better thermal stability of the catalysts activated by O₃ may be due to that O₃ activation leads to the formation of partially oxidized state of Au in Au/FLA-O₃, which may reinforce the interaction between the metal and support.