Tuning performance of Pd/Sn 0.9 Ce 0.1 O 2 catalyst for methane combustion by optimizing calcination temperature of support

A series of 0.2 wt% Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 catalysts were prepared by impregnation method based on the pre-synthesis of Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 support prepared by co-precipitation method, and then characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman, CO chemical adsorption and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) techniques. The effect of calcination temperature of the composite oxide support on the catalytic performances of the Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 catalyst for the CH4 total oxidation was studied. It is found that the catalytic activity of the Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 catalyst increases with the increase in calcination temperature of the Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 support. The 0.2 wt% Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2/1100 catalyst (the Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 support was calcined at 1100 °C) exhibits the best reactive activity (T10 = 255 °C). The excellent activity of the 0.2 wt% Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2/1100 catalyst should be attributed to the high reducibility of PdO, the excellent oxygen mobility of the support and the high content of active Pd2+ species on the Pd/Sn0.9Ce0.1O2 catalyst.