Support effect on complete oxidation of volatile organic compounds over Ru catalysts

Catalytic combustion of ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde, and toluene was investigated on various supported Ru catalysts prepared by the impregnation method, and the effect of reduction treatment on the activity was examined. Among the as-calcined catalysts tested, Ru/CeO2 showed the highest activity for all tests regardless of the pre-treatment in hydrogen atmosphere. The catalytic activity of Ru/SnO2 was significantly degraded by the reduction treatment, whereas the activity of Ru/ZrO2 and Ru/γ-Al2O3 was enhanced. To reveal these phenomena, the as-calcined and reduced catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and BET surface area. The dispersion of ruthenium on the supports was evaluated by chemisorption methods of carbon monoxide. The catalytic activity was strongly related to ruthenium species easily oxidizable and reducible at low temperatures. Such ruthenium species were loaded on CeO2 in a highly dispersed state, resulting in the highest activity.