The effect of preparation procedure of some mixed gadolinium iron oxid
es on their activity as catalysts versus the water-gas shift reaction
has been investigated. The catalytic behaviour of the above ferritic m
aterials, containing gadolinium orthoferrite and garnet in their compo
sition, is attributed to their n- or p-semiconductive character. It is
shown that a lot of the above catalysts present a remarkable catalyti
c efficiency comparable and, in many cases, exceeding the activity of
some industrial catalysts actually used for the water-gas conversion.