LOW-TEMPERATURE WATER-GAS SHIFT REACTION ON AU ALPHA-FE2O3 CATALYST/

The water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) has been studied on Au/alpha-Fe2O3 catalyst. The structure of the samples has been investigated by chemi cal and physical methods - TEM, X-ray, DTA, FTIR. A high dispersion de gree of the gold particles and an increased concentration of the hydro xyl groups on Au/alpha-Fe2O3 has been established in comparison to the pure alpha-Fe2O. The results obtained can be explained on the basis o f the associative mechanism of the WGSR. The essential aspects are the dissociative adsorption of water on ultrafine gold particles, followe d by spillover of active hydroxyl groups onto adjacent sites of the fe rric oxide. The formation and decomposition of intermediate species is accompanied by redox transfer Fe3+ <-> Fe2+ in Fe3O4.