Performance and characterization of supported metal catalysts for complete oxidation of formaldehyde at low temperatures

Activities of a series of metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, Cu, Mn) supported on TiO2 were investigated for the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde. Among them, Pt/TiO2 was found to be the most promising catalyst. Nitrogen adsorption, hydrogen chemisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) by H2 were used to characterize the platinum catalysts. Using Ce0.8Zr0.2O2, Ce0.2Zr0.8O2, SiO2 as supports instead of TiO2, the activity sequence of 0.6 wt.% platinum with respect to the supports is TiO2 > SiO2 > Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 > Ce0.2Zr0.8O2, and this appears to be correlated with the dispersion of platinum on supports rather than the specific surface areas of the catalysts. Platinum loading on TiO2 has a great effect on the catalytic activity, and 0.6 wt.% Pt/TiO2 catalyst was observed to be the most active, which could be attributed to the well-dispersed platinum surface phase. The reduction temperature greatly affects the particle size and, consequently, the catalytic activity. The smaller particle size of platinum, due to its high dispersion on support, has a positive effect on catalytic performance. Increasing formaldehyde concentration and space velocity exhibits an inhibiting effect on the catalytic activity.