Preparation and characteristics of pretreated Pt/alumina catalysts for the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide

The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) needs purified hydrogen fuel from hydrocarbon reforming and water-gas shift (WGS) reaction. Concentration of CO should be ∼10 ppm level to avoid poisoning of the platinum anode electrode. For this, preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide (PROX) reaction is essential. In this study, a novel pretreatment technique was applied to a conventional Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. Oxygen-treated, water-treated, and conventional Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst were prepared and their performances in the PROX reaction were investigated in a simulated hydrogen-rich reaction conditions. Our results showed that catalytic activity of the oxygen-treated 5% Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst for the CO conversion increased dramatically especially at the low temperature below 100 °C. The enhancement is attributed to the formation of well-dispersed small Pt particles.