Efficient catalytic abatement of CO, CH3OH and (CH3)2O over nanosized gold catalysts: impact of support

Ceria, iron oxide and mixed Ce–Fe mixed oxide, synthesized by the urea gelation coprecipitation pathway, were used as a supports of gold catalysts. The impact of the nature of support on the catalytic performance for oxidation of CO, CH3OH and (CH3)2O was studied. Very high catalytic activity was demonstrated by gold catalysts supported on CeO2 and mixed CeO2-Fe2O3 (about 100 % conversion of CO and CH3OH at 40 oC). The catalysts were characterized by HRTEM, X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy. The analysis of the structural characteristics and of the catalytic data from all studied reactions showed that the type of support is a principal factor governing the behaviour of the resulting gold catalysts. The effect can be attributed to significant difference in gold particles size and in the ability of the supports to assist oxygen vacancies formation.