Effect of additives on the WGS activity of combustion synthesized CuO/CeO2 catalysts

This paper presents a study on the role of additives (samaria, lanthana, zirconia, and zinc oxide) to ceria as a support of copper catalysts for low-temperature WGSR. A single-step urea-combustion procedure was used for preparation of highly active catalysts. The results revealed the beneficial role of Sm2O3 and ZnO doping in increasing BET surface area and total pore volume of the catalysts and decreasing the degree of crystallinity of ceria. TPR profiles evidenced enhanced reducibility of modified catalysts. The WGS activity of these catalysts correlates well with BET, XRD, and TPR data. By comparing the catalysts with a commercial CuO–ZnO–Al2O3 sample we point out the feasibility of using CuO/doped-ceria catalysts for low-temperature WGSR.