Roles of Pt and BaO in the Sulfation of Pt/BaO/Al2O3 Lean NOx Trap Materials: Sulfur K-edge XANES and Pt Llll XAFS Studies
The roles of barium oxide and platinum during the sulfation of Pt-BaO/Al2O3 lean NOx trap catalysts were investigated by S K edge XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy) and Pt LIII XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure). All of the samples studied [Al2O3, BaO(x; x = 8 or 20 wt %)/Al2O3, Pt(2.5 wt %)/Al2O3, and Pt(2 wt %)-BaO(x; x = 8 or 20 wt %)/Al2O3] were pre-sulfated prior to the X-ray absorption measurements. It was found that barium oxide itself has the ability to directly form barium sulfate even in the absence of Pt and gas-phase oxygen. In the platinum-containing samples, the presence of Pt-O species plays an important role in the formation of sulfate species. For the case of the BaO(8)/Al2O3 sample, where the barium coverage is about 0.26 ML, both baria and alumina phases are available for sulfation. S XANES results show that barium sulfates are formed preferentially over aluminum sulfates. When oxygen is absent from the gas phase, the sulfation route that involves Pt-O is eliminated after the initially present Pt-O species are completely consumed. In this case, formation of sulfates is suppressed unless barium oxide is also present. Pt LIII XAFS results show that the first coordination sphere around the Pt atoms in the Pt particles is dependent upon the gas mixture used during the sulfation process. Sulfation under reducing environments (e.g., SO2/H2) leads to formation of Pt-S bonds, while oxidizing conditions (e.g., SO2/O2) continue to show the presence of Pt-O bonds. In addition, a reducing environment was found to cause Pt sintering in greater extent than an oxidizing one. This result explains why samples sulfated under reducing conditions had lower NOx uptakes than those sulfated under oxidizing conditions. Therefore, our results provide needed information for the development of optimum practical operation conditions (e.g., sulfation or desulfation) for lean NOx trap catalysts that minimize deactivation by sulfur.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Doe - Office Of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 960111
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-83097-2009-JA; TRN: US201016%%1255
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 112; ISSN 1932-7447
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Characteristics of Desulfation Behavior for Pre-Sulfated Pt-BaO/CeO2 Lean NOx Trap Catalysts: The Role of the CeO2 Support
Effects of Sulfation Level on the Desulfation Behavior of Presulfated Pt-BaO/Al2O3 Lean