Gold Coating on Copper-Ceria Catalysts for Preferential CO Oxidation Process in Rich Hydrogen Stream

Iran is rich in gas resources, which is the most important source of hydrogen production. Purification of produced hydrogen is required for use in various processes. One of the applications of hydrogen in fuel cells is that the need for hydrogen purification and carbon monoxide concentration is as low as 10 ppm. This is due to the carbon monoxide poisoning of the fuel cell anode. The use of nanocatalysts, especially gold nanocatalysts, for hydrogen purification in processes is of particular importance. In this study, oxidation of carbon monoxide in the presence of rich hydrogen stream was investigated by coating gold nanoparticles, which had a significant effect on the rate of conversion of CO. In this work, FESEM, BET, XRD, TPR analyzes were used for characterization and FT-IR for catalytic performance testing for the preferential carbon monoxide oxidation process. Catalytic activity test result for synthesized catalysts: CeO2 < Cu5% IMP-CeO2 < Au-CeO2 < Au-Cu5% IMP-CeO2 indicating synergistic effect of gold and copper for preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide.