Zirconia-supported LaCoO3 catalysts for hydrogen production by oxidative reforming of diesel: Optimization of preparation conditions

The influence of calcination temperature and precursor type used in the preparation of ZrO2-supported LaCoO3 catalyst on its behaviour for hydrogen production by oxidative reforming of diesel has been analyzed in terms of LaCoO3 structure. Four samples have been prepared by wetness co-impregnation with cobalt and lanthanum salts and characterized by means of XRD, BET, SEM-EDX, TXRF and XPS. Physicochemical characterization shows a great influence of the nature of precursors and calcination temperature used in the synthesis on the textural, morphological, surface and structural properties of LaCoO3 deposited over ZrO2. The use of nitrate precursors and high calcination temperature leads to the formation of LaCoO3 perovskite structures of high grain and crystallite size on ZrO2 support. On the contrary, the catalyst prepared from acetate precursors and calcined at low temperature showed perovskite crystallites of lower size. For this sample, the smaller perovskite crystallites on the catalyst at the beginning of the reaction imply higher and more stable hydrogen production for short-term test aging test.