Influence of NiO on the performance of CoO-based catalysts for the selective oxidation of CO in H2-rich gas

The catalytic properties of Ni, Co, and Co-Ni supported activated carbon (AC) catalysts for oxidation for the removal of carbon monoxide (CO) in H2-rich gas are investigated. Results show that CoxOy/AC and CoO–NiO/AC exhibit higher catalytic activity than NiO/AC and that CoO–NiO/AC gives high CO conversion of above 99.5% at a wide reaction temperature region of 413–463 K. The addition of nickel oxide (NiO) can lead to enriched CoO species on the surface of CoO-NiO/AC. The higher catalytic activity and selectivity of CoO-NiO/AC compared with CoxOy/AC can be attributed to NiO playing an important role.

► CO removal by catalytic oxidation in excess hydrogen gases on non-noble metal catalyst was studied in the present work.
► The concentration of CO can be reduced to less than 50 ppm at 413–463 K on CoO–NiO/AC.
► CoO–NiO/AC is a potential catalyst with a low cost for removing the trace amounts of CO.
► CoO species is an important catalytic active center.
► NiO acted as an important promoter in the catalyst.