The Effect of Phosphorus Exposure on Diesel Oxidation Catalysts—Part I: Activity Measurements, Elementary and Surface Analyses

Abstract

The effects of phosphorus poisoning on the activity of PtPd and Pt diesel oxidation catalysts and on the activity of the support material were investigated using the gas phase laboratory-scale-aging procedure. The catalysts were treated using two different phosphorus concentrations (0.065 and 0.13 mol/L (NH4)2HPO). The deactivation was studied by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry and Fourier-transform infrared reflectance, N2-physisorption, and activity measurements with CO, C3H6 and NO. The amount of accumulated phosphorus was higher on the Pt catalyst surface than on the PtPd catalyst and significantly higher on the surface of the bare support material. Phosphorus concentration was uniform throughout the support layer (down to the 10 μm), and phosphorus was found as phosphate, although it can also form compounds like AlPO4 with the support. The treatment with low phosphorus concentration was found to have a clear deactivation effect only for C3H6 oxidation activity on PtPd catalysts above 200 °C. The treatment with high phosphorus concentration significantly decreased the activity of both the PtPd and Pt catalysts. In particular, the C3H6 and NO oxidation activities of the fresh and P-treated Pt catalysts were higher than those of the PtPd catalysts for the entire temperature range.