A multilayered plate-type copper–cerium catalyst for efficient hydrogen production via the water–gas shift reaction

Abstract

Metallic plate-type catalysts exhibit higher thermal conductivity, greater compactness, and lower pressure drop per catalyst volume than those of granular catalysts. In this study, Cu-based thin-foil catalysts—that is, Cu–Ce alloy thin-foils with compositions ranging from Cu75Ce25 to Cu87.5Ce12.5 (at%)—were fabricated by single-roller rapid quenching of a melted Cu–Ce alloy, followed by oxidative and reductive heat treatments (at 500 °C in air and at 430 °C under hydrogen flow, respectively). The Cu–Ce foil catalysts showed composition-dependent activity for the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, with Cu80Ce20 and Cu83.3Ce16.7 exhibiting particularly noteworthy catalytic behavior. Morphological and microstructural analyses indicated that the foil samples subjected to the oxidative and reductive treatments have a Cu/(CeO2 + Cu2O)/Cu sandwich structure with numerous Cu2O–CeO2 interfaces and a large specific surface area (>10 m2 g−1), which enabled the foils to exhibit high catalytic activity for the WGS reaction.