EXAFS Investigations of Industrial Reforming Catalysts: Pt-Re or Rh on Gamma Alumina at the Platinum L₃ Edge

Abstract

Reforming is a large area of interest in heterogeneous catalysis. The basic material is made of small platinum particles (one nm or less in diameter) supported onto a light oxide (typically alumina of high specific area: 200 m²g⁻¹). All the different chemical routes taken during the preparation procedures go through three steps from the precursor impregnation to the active metal final stage: drying, calcination and reduction. Using a furnace similar to that related by LYTLE (1) we have already described these stages in an in situ study of a pure platinum on gamma alumina catalyst (2). Bimetallic cases, which are close to industrial materials, have been considered in the same way and this work summarises the quantitative results we got at the platinum L₃ edge for the dried and calcined steps. Two systems, where the added metal is either rhenium or rhodium, are investigated.