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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Predicting Catalyst Extrudate Breakage Based on the Modulus of Rupture
Published on: May 13, 2018
Self- regeneration of Au/CeO2 based catalysts with enhanced activity and ultra-stability for acetylene
Lin Ye1, Xinping Duan2, Simson Wu1
1Wolfson Catalysis Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QR, UK.
Abstract:
Replacement of Hg with non-toxic Au based catalysts for industrial hydrochlorination of acetylene to vinyl chloride is urgently required. However Au catalysts suffer from progressive deactivation caused by auto-reduction of Au(I) and Au(III) active sites and irreversible aggregation of Au(0) inactive sites. Here we show from synchrotron X-ray absorption, STEM imaging and DFT modelling that the availability of ceria(110) surface renders Au(0)/Au(I) as active pairs. Thus, Au(0) is directly involved in the catalysis. Owing to the strong mediating properties of Ce(IV)/Ce(III) with one electron complementary redox coupling reactions, the ceria promotion to Au catalysts gives enhanced activity and stability. Total pre-reduction of Au species to inactive Au nanoparticles of Au/CeO2&AC when placed in a C2H2/HCl stream can also rapidly rejuvenate. This is dramatically achieved by re-dispersing the Au particles to Au(0) atoms and oxidising to Au(I) entities, whereas Au/AC does not recover from the deactivation.
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