Comparative studies of the N2O/H2, N2O/CO, H2/O2 and CO/O2 reactions on supported gold catalysts: effect of the addition of various oxides

The reduction of N2O with H2 and CO has been investigated on Au/TiO2, Au/Al2O3, Au/MIOx/MIIOx/Al2O3, and Au/MOx/Al2O3 (MI, MII, M=Li, Rb, Mg, Co, Mn, Ce, La, Ti). In addition, for comparison, the oxidation reactions of H2 and CO with O2 have been studied on some selected catalysts. All the samples are highly active at low temperatures for all the reactions. The oxides added to Au/Al2O3 improve the catalytic performance of gold. Interesting and synergistic effects were observed when a mixture of metal oxides is added to Au/Al2O3, e.g., Rb2O (Li2O) and CeOx. Possible mechanisms are proposed.