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1887
Volume 70, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2056-5135
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  • oa Catalyst Deactivation Modes of Palladium Oxide on Gamma Alumina Catalysts for Lean Methane Oxidation

    Reversible and irreversible modes are identified

  • Authors: Hai-Ying Chen1ORCID icon, Yuliana Lugo-Jose2, Joseph M. Fedeyko2, Todd J. Toops1, Lawrence F. Allard3, Yan-Ru Lin3 and Jacqueline Fidler4
  • 1 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2360 Cherahala Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37932, USA 2 Johnson Matthey, 435 Devon Park Drive, Wayne, PA 19087, USA 3 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37830, USA 4 CONSOL Energy Inc, 275 Technology Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317, USA
    *[email protected]
  • Source: Johnson Matthey Technology Review, Volume 70, Issue 1, Jan 2026, p. 58 - 77
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1595/205651326X17521441507328
    • Received: 13 May 2025
    • Accepted: 09 Jul 2025

Abstract

Palladium(II) oxide/γ-alumina (PdO/γ-AlO) catalysts are one of the most active catalytic components for the complete oxidation of methane. Under reaction conditions, especially in a wet feed, the catalysts suffer severe performance degradation. This study establishes a series of testing protocols to systematically investigate the causes of catalyst deactivation under methane oxidation reaction conditions. Four distinct catalyst deactivation modes are identified. Two of the deactivation modes are directly related to water, either from the feed gas or as a part of the reaction products, with one (Mode 2) being attributed to the formation of surface hydroxyl groups and the other (Mode 3) to the competitive adsorption of water on the catalysts. The impact of the two deactivation modes is acute and severe but reversible. In contrast, the other two deactivation modes are gradual and persistent but irreversible. Both modes are induced by methane oxidation reaction, with the impact of a wet feed (Mode 4) being substantially more severe than that of a dry feed (Mode 1). The major cause of the irreversible catalyst deactivation is attributed to surface reconstruction of palladium(II) oxide nanoparticles, which behaves as a passivation layer lowering the number of coordinately unsaturated palladium sites for methane activation. Although the passivation layer is relatively stable against thermal or hydrothermal treatment, it is not completely inert. Formation and partial regeneration of the passivation layer is a highly dynamic process and heavily depends on the reaction temperature: a lower reaction temperature (≤450°C) can lead to quicker catalyst deactivation; but a higher reaction temperature (between 500–550°C) can result in a greater extent of catalyst deactivation.

© 2026 Johnson Matthey
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Catalyst Deactivation Modes of Palladium Oxide on Gamma Alumina Catalysts for Lean Methane Oxidation
Johnson Matthey Technology Review 70, 58 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1595/205651326X17521441507328
/content/journals/10.1595/205651326X17521441507328
/content/journals/10.1595/205651326X17521441507328
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Supplements

The Supplementary Information is compiled in a separate word document. It includes: methane oxidation activity testing results over a 0.4% PdO/γ-AlO catalyst; a table that tabulates the methane breakthrough levels as shown in and the corresponding pseudo rate constants; an extended activity evaluation at 600°C over the 0.4% PdO/γ-AlO catalyst under wet methane oxidation conditions after the evaluation as shown in .

Supplementary Information 

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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): catalyst deactivation; irreversible deactivation; methane oxidation; PdO/γ-Al2O3; surface reconstruction; water inhibition

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