Development and Testing of Pt/Al2O3 Catalysts for Hydrogen Peroxide Decomposition

Supported Pt/Al2O3 and Pt/SiC catalysts for hydrogen peroxide (HP) decomposition have been prepared by means of two innovative implantation techniques on spheres and granules of several alumina-based carriers (lanthanum-doped alumina, bimodal delta –alumina and theta –alumina, silicon carbide and alpha–alumina) with BET surface areas between 4 and 200 m2/g. In order to evaluate the chemical activity and thermal shock resistance of the supporting pellets, two focused sets of experiments have been carried out in a specifically-designed test bench. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements of the platinum load on the supporting surface have been used to assess the effectiveness of the deposition and monitor the degradation induced by hydrogen peroxide decomposition. Two of the Pt/α−Al2O3 catalysts showed excellent activity, high thermo-mechanical strength, and negligible loss of platinum after repeated cycles of hydrogen peroxide decomposition. In addition, h..