On the Activity Enhancing Role of Iron Oxide for Noble Metal Oxidation Catalysts: A CVD-Based Study with Differently Structured Combinations of Pt and FeOₓ Coatings on Al₂O₃

With regard to the catalysis of oxidation reactions by noble metals, the addition of FeOx to an Al2O3-supported Pt catalyst is known to be energetically more favorable compared to only Pt. In this work, different process routes for the preparation of such Fe-promoted Pt/Al2O3 catalysts via atmospheric chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in a fluidized bed were explored. Specifically, the question of whether it would be advantageous to deposit the Fe before, along with, or after the Pt was addressed, and new information was obtained about the optimum FeOx–Pt interface and mixing ratio. Vapors of Trimethyl(methylcyclopentadienyl)platinum(IV) and/or Ethyl-ferrocene were injected into the bed from the top, permitting a quasi-lossless precursor operation and a very good control of the deposited metal, and hence of the catalyst structure. Samples could be extracted from the top while CVD was ongoing to obtain time-resolved data. The catalytic activity was determined through CO oxidation. The Fe-Pt mixing ratio was then varied for the most active deposition sequence, in order to identify an activity optimum generated by the minimum amount of Pt catalyst. When compared to pure Pt/Al2O3, the optimum catalyst consistently showed superior performance even after thermal stres