Sulfation of ceria-zirconia model automotive emissions control catalysts

Cerium-zirconium mixed metal oxides are used in automotive emissions control catalysts to regulate the partial pressure of oxygen near the catalyst surface. The near surface oxygen partial pressure is regulated through transfer of atomic oxygen from the ceria-zirconia solid matrix to the platinum group metals to form metal oxides capable of oxidizing carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. Although the addition of zirconium in the cubic lattice of ceria increases the oxygen storage capacity and thermal stability of the ceria matrix, the cerium-zirconium oxide system remains particularly susceptible to deactivation from sulfur compounds. While the overall effect of sulfur on these systems is understood (partially irreversible deactivation), the fundamental and molecular interaction of sulfur with ceria-zirconia remains a challenging problem.; Ceria-zirconia metal oxide solid solutions have been prepared through co-precipitation with nitrate precursors. The prepared powders were calcined and subsequently formed into planer wafers and characterized for chemical and physical attributes. The prepared samples were subsequently exposed to a sulfur dioxide based environment and characterized with spectroscopic techniques to characterize the extent of sulfation and the nature of surface sulfur species. The extent of sulfation of the model ceria-zirconia systems was characterized with Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) prior to and after treatment in a microreactor. Strong dependencies were observed between the atomic ratio of ceria to zirconia and the extent of sulfation. In addition, the partial pressure of sulfur dioxide during treatments also correlated to the extent of sulfation, while temperature only slightly effected the extent of sulfation. The AES data suggests the gas phase sulfur dioxide preferentially chemisorbs on surface ceria atoms and the extent of sulfation is heavily dependent on sulfur dioxide concentrations and only slightly dependent on catalyst temperatures, as confirmed by thermal programmed desorption (TPD). While hydrogen exposure indicated slight sulfur removal, exposure to a redox environment or atmosphere nearly eliminated the quantity of chemisorbed surface sulfur. The nature of sulfur removal is attributed to the inherent redox properties of ceria-zirconia systems. The complete analysis provides mechanistic insight into sulfation dependencies and fundamental information regarding sulfur adsorption on ceria-zirconia model automotive emissions control systems.