Abstract
An argon glow discharge plasma was used to reduce RhCl3 impregnated Al2O3 powder at room temperature. The obtained sample was characterized by chemisorption, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with an energy dispersion X-ray spectrometer (EDX). XRD and EDX analyses confirmed that Rh ions were reduced into metallic Rh during the plasma reduction. TEM analysis revealed that the argon plasma reduction induces a high dispersion of Rh nano-particles. The average particle size of Rh is 1.2 nm, estimated by chemisorption. For the CO2 reforming of methane, the plasma reduced Rh/Al2O3 shows comparable activity to a conventional hydrogen reduced catalyst. The value of the standard electrode potential can be employed for the assessment of reducibility of metal ions. The catalyst reduction using argon glow discharge plasma at room temperature will provide a promising alternative to hydrogen reduction for catalyst preparation.
Published Version
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