Low-temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide over (Mn1 - X M x)O2 (M = Co, Pd) catalysts

(Mn1 − x M x )O2 (M = Co, Pd) materials synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and dried at 80°C have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and adsorption and have been tested in CO oxidation under CO + O2 TPR conditions and under isothermal conditions at room temperature in the absence and presence of water vapor. The synthesized materials have the tunnel structure of cryptomelane irrespective of the promoter nature and content. Their specific surface area is 110–120 m2/g. MnO2 is morphologically uniform, and the introduction of cobalt or palladium into this oxide disrupts its uniformity and causes the formation of more or less crystallized aggregates varying in size. The (Mn,Pd)O2 composition contains Pd metal, which is in contact with the MnO2-based oxide phase. The average size of the palladium particles is no larger than 12 nm. The initial activity of the materials in CO oxidation, which was estimated in terms of the 10% CO conversion temperature, increases in the following order: MnO2 (100°C) < (Mn,Co)O2 (98°C) < (Mn,Co,Pd)O2 (23°C) < (Mn,Pd)O2 (−12°C). The high activity of (Mn,Pd)O2 is due to its surface containing palladium in two states, namely, oxidized palladium (interaction phase) palladium metal (clusters). The latter are mainly dispersed in the MnO2 matrix. This catalyst is effective in CO oxidation even at room temperature when there is no water vapor in the reaction mixture, but it is inactive in the presence of water vapor. Water vapor causes partial reduction of Mn4+ ions and an increase in the proportion of palladium metal clusters.