Effects of ZrO2 Content on Structure and Performance of Cu/CeO2-ZrO2 Catalysts for Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Cu/CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts for water-gas shift (WGS) reaction were prepared with co-precipitation method, and the influence of ZrO2 content on the catalytic structure and properties was investigated by the techniques of N2 physical adsorption analysis, XRD and H2-TPR. The results indicate that the BET surface areas of the catalysts are increased in varying degrees due to the presence of ZrO2. With increasing ZrO2 content, the pore size distribution is centered on 1.9 nm. ZrO2can efficiently restrain the growth of Cu crystal particles. The appropriate amount of ZrO2 in the Cu/CeO2 catalysts can help the catalyst keep better copper dispersion in the WGS reaction, which can lead to both higher catalytic activity and better thermal stability. When ZrO2 content is 10% (atom fraction), Cu/CeO2-ZrO2 catalyst reaches a CO conversion rate of 73.7 % at the reaction temperature of 200 ℃.