Influence of palladium precursors on methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation over Pd/CeO2 catalysts prepared by deposition-precipitation method

The impact of palladium precursors on the catalytic behavior of Pd/CeO2 cat alysts was studied for methanol synthesis through hydrogenation of carbon m onoxide. Catalysts prepared from palladium chloride and palladium acetate s howed much higher overall catalytic activities than those prepared using pa lladium nitrate. Palladium precursors did not have a significant influence on the distribution of products, very similar selectivities of methanol and methane were obtained. The palladium precursor, or more specifically its a nion, had an effect on the final palladium particles, and therefore affecte d the interaction between Pd and ceria, which would cause different reactio n results. The catalytic deactivation with time-on-stream was interpreted i n terms of the growth of Pd particles under reaction conditions. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.