Characterization and activity of vanadia-promoted Pt/ZrO2 catalysts for the water–gas shift reaction

Pt/ZrO2 catalysts for the water–gas shift (WGS) were promoted with various amounts of vanadia. Analyses by XRD, N2 adsorption, Raman, and UV–vis DRS showed that vanadia is present below monolayer coverage as monovanadate and polyvanadate, with the former dominating at lower loadings, and that following monolayer formation, VO5 species appear, with the eventual generation of V2O5 and ZrV2O7 for a vanadia weight loading of 13%. Though in all cases vanadia induced an enhancement in WGS activity, the best catalyst, that contained 3 wt.% of vanadia, gave a rate that was nearly double that of the unpromoted Pt/ZrO2. That superior global activity probably results from the monovanadate that is the main species at low loadings. It is believed that monovanadate promotes the WGS by rendering the support's surface more oxidizing through its VOZr bonds.