Combination of flame synthesis and high-throughput experimentation: The preparation of alumina-supported noble metal particles and their application in the partial oxidation of methane Original Research Article

Mono and multi-noble metal particles on Al2O3 were prepared in one step by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) of the corresponding noble metal precursors dissolved in methanol and acetic acid (v/v 1:1) or xylene. The noble metal loading of the catalysts was close to the theoretical composition as determined by WD-XRF and LA-ICP-MS. The preparation method was combined with high-throughput testing using an experimental setup consisting of eight parallel fixed-bed reactors. Samples containing 0.1–5 wt% noble metals (Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) on Al2O3 were tested in the catalytic partial oxidation of methane. The ignition of the reaction towards carbon monoxide and hydrogen depended on the loading and the noble metal constituents. The selectivity of these noble metal catalysts towards CO and H2 was similar under the conditions used (methane: oxygen ratio 2:1, temperature from 300 to 500 °C) and exceeded significantly those of gold and silver containing catalysts.