Mechanistic aspects of the selective methanation of CO over Ru/TiO2 catalyst

Summarization: The mechanism of selective methanation of CO/CO2 over 5%Ru/TiO2 catalyst is investigated employing in situ FTIR spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and transient mass spectrometry techniques. It is shown that interaction of the prereduced catalyst with the reaction mixtures results in the development of various Ru-bonded carbonyl species on reduced and partially oxidized sites as well as on sites located at the metal-support interface. The nature and population of these species depend strongly on feed composition and reaction temperature. Results of the present study confirm our previous suggestion that the mechanism of CO methanation includes both dissociative and associative reaction pathways. The former, which dominates at lower reaction temperatures, involves hydrogenation of surface carbon produced by dissociative adsorption of CO, whereas the latter involves hydrogenation of CO species adsorbed at the metal-support interface. At low temperatures, typically