Effect of Pd/Ce loading on the performance of Pd–Ce/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for toluene abatement

A single metal Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst and a bimetallic Pd–Ce/γ-Al2O3 catalyst were prepared by the equal-volume impregnation method to investigate the effect of CeO2 loading on the catalytic oxidation of toluene. The specific surface area, surface morphology, and redox performance of the catalyst were characterized by N2 desorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2-TPR, O2-TPD, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The results showed that bimetal catalysts loaded CeO2 had smaller nano-PdO particles than those of the Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. Compared with the catalyst of 0.2Pd/γ-Al2O3 (percentage of mass, the same as below), the catalyst doped with 0.3CeO2 had a stronger reduction peak, which was shifted to the low-temperature zone by more than 80 °C. The results of XPS and O2-TPD showed that the introduction of CeO2 provided more surface oxygen vacancy for the catalyst and enhanced its catalytic oxidation ability, and the amount of desorbed O2 increased from 3.55 μmol/g to 8.54 μmol/g. The results of EPR were that the addition of CeO2 increased the content of active oxygen species and oxygen vacancies on the surface of the catalysts, which might be due to the supply of electrons to the O2 and PdO during the Ce3+toCe4+ conversion process. That could have accelerated the catalytic reaction process. Compared with the single precious metal catalyst, the T10 and T90 of the Pd–Ce/γ-Al2O3 catalyst were decreased by 22 °C and 40 °C, respectively.