Gold, palladium and gold–palladium supported on silica catalysts prepared by sol–gel method: synthesis, characterization and catalytic behavior in the ethanol steam reforming

Noble-metal-based catalysts supported on silica (Au/SiO2, Pd/SiO2 and Au–Pd/SiO2) were prepared by the sol–gel method and were evaluated in the steam reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production. The catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption (BET/BJH methods), X-ray diffraction, temperature programmed reduction analysis, H2 chemisorption, atomic absorption spectrophotometry and Raman spectroscopy. The structural characterization of the Au- and Pd-containing catalysts after calcination showed that the solids are predominantly formed by Au0, Pd0 and PdO species and was observed that the metallic Pd dispersion diminished in the presence of Au0. The results revealed that the catalytic behavior could be influenced by the experimental conditions and the nature of the catalyst employed. The Pd/SiO2 catalyst showed the best performance among the catalysts tested at the highest reaction temperature (600 °C) due to the more effective action of the metallic active phase, which covers a greater area in this sample. At this same reaction temperature, the Au–Pd/SiO2 catalyst showed a significant deactivation, probably due to the lower Pd dispersion presented by this catalyst.