Synergistic Interactions Between Copper and Iron Oxide during the HT-WGS Reaction

The supported Fe-Cu-/SiO₂ catalyst system investigated as a model catalyst for examining the synergistic interaction between copper and iron during the High Temperature Water-Gas Shift (HT-WGS) reaction. The catalysts studied were: bulk Fe₂O₃, supported 5%Fe/SiO₂, supported 5%Cu/SiO₂, supported 5%Cu5%Fe/SiO₂, supported 10%Cu5%Fe/SiO₂, supported 10%Cu/SiO_2, supported 20%Cu/SiO_2, and supported 20%Cu5%Fe/SiO_2. The catalysts were studied for the steady-state HT-WGS reaction to determine catalyst activity as a function of catalyst composition and reaction temperature. There was a measurable increased activity for catalysts with containing both copper and iron revealing a synergistic interaction between these components. The reducibility of the catalysts was reducibility was probed with CO-Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) that revealed that synergistic interaction between Cu and Fe was related to copper aiding the reduction of the Fe₂O₃ phase.