The application of "superacidic" metal oxides and their platinum doped counterparts to methane combustion

A range of metal oxides have been compared as methane combustion catalysts. The effect of modification to generate "superacidic" behaviour on the acti vities of ZrO2 and Fe2O3 systems has been studied. It has been shown that w hilst sulphation lowers the activity of Fe2O3, sulphation and, particularly , molybdation enhance the performance of ZrO2. Despite enhancing the activi ty of the unmodified base oxides, the addition of low levels of Pt has been demonstrated to poison the activity of "superacidic" zirconias. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.