One-pot synthesis of mesoporous Al 2 O 3 -supported Pt-Pd catalysts for toluene combustion

Abstract Mesoporous Al 2 O 3 -supported Pt-Pd catalyst was prepared via a one-step evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process and employed for toluene combustion. It was found that the T 90 (160 °C) and activation energy (43 kJ/mol) of the one-pot prepared Pt-Pd-Al 2 O 3 catalyst are lower than the conventional Al 2 O 3 - supported Pt-Pd catalyst prepared by the wet impregnation method (250 °C, 49.8 kJ/mol). Moreover, the one-pot prepared Pt-Pd-Al 2 O 3 catalyst shows the presence of nano Pt-Pd particles in the mesochannels. In terms of the one-pot EISA approach, the bi-metallic Pt-Pd-Al 2 O 3 catalyst exhibits reduced noble-metal mean particle size (6.1 nm) and T 90 than the mono-metallic Pt-Al 2 O 3 and Pd-Al 2 O 3 catalysts. It was demonstrated that the present Pt-Pd-Al 2 O 3 catalytic system exhibits the lowest T 90 and T 50 parameter values and apparent activation energy at comparable space velocities and toluene feed composition compared to several best performed catalysts reported in the literature.