Flame-synthesis of copper-ceria catalysts
The widespread adoption of polymer electrolyte membrane fuels cells is reliant on the production of high-purity hydrogen with a carbon monoxide contaminant concentration of less than 50 ppm. To achieve this purity, copper ceria nanopowders have been proposed as a potential catalyst for the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide from the hydrogen feed stream. Further to the high levels of activity and selectivity, copper-based catalysts are significantly cheaper than traditional precious metal catalysts (e.g. Pt, Au, Pd and Rh).
While conventional aqueous preparation methods rely upon successive adsorption, rinsing and calcination procedures, in this work attempts were made to synthesise copper-ceria nanoparticulate catalysts via the single-step Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) process.
