Steady state experiments and their interpretation were performed to explore the kinetics of CO oxidation over a supported c0@4 catalyst. The rate of reaction was found to depend on temperature and the partial pressure of oxygen but not on the partial pressure of carbon monoxide. It is shown that catalyst dynamics must be accounted for to achieve real understanding.
SCOPEAmong the transition metal oxides, cobalt oxide (Co304) is one of the most active catalysts for carbon monoxide oxidation. The catalytic surface is known to play an important role, yet there is no consensus in the literature regarding the reaction mechanism. The only previous extensive study of this reaction system was by Yao (1974), who emphasized the comparison of activities of cobalt oxide catalysts prepared by various methods. She showed that the catalytic activity of C0304 for CO oxidation could even compare favorably with the noble metals, but her rate data were not sufficiently definitive to attempt any mechanistic interpretations. The broad goal of the three papers that comprise this series is to elucidate the mechanistic character of oxidation-reduction catalysis by metal oxides. This first paper deals with conventional steady state experimentation. A fixed-bed reactor was used to study the dependence of conversion (and thence reaction rate) on flow rate, temperature, CO and 0 2 partial pressures, and catalyst characteristics. The interpretation of the steady state results enhances understanding, but more importantly it establishes a basis for comparison of the results of the dynamic studies described in Parts I1 and 111.