Preparation of Au-CeO2 and Au-Al2O3/AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel monoliths and their performance in the catalytic oxidation of CO

The use of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) as metallic substrate for monolithic catalytic devices is explored in this work as well as an alternative procedure to the washcoating of Al2O3 and CeO2 supported Au catalysts. Thermal treatment of the metallic surface ensured a good adherence of the catalysts. Some preparation parameters, like the number of dipping and drying steps, were controlled in order to obtain an homogeneous and adherent layer of catalyst. The resulting surfaces were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 sorption and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and were tested in the CO oxidation reaction. The highest conversion to CO2 was obtained with the monolith coated with 1% Au-CeO2 in the presence of water.