Nano-structural investigation of Ag/Al2O3 catalyst for selective removal of O2 with excess H2 in the presence of C2H4

Ag/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts have been characterized in-depth during different thermo-chemical treatments by in situ diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy and quasi in situ Transmission Electron Microscopy. The combination of these techniques indicates that sintering and redispersion of silver is clearly observed from the increases and decreases in the absorption band intensity over the range of 250-600 nm due to the presence of silver clusters and silver nanoparticles. These results allow us to study the effect of the reaction feed on the metal dispersion at different operation conditions and discuss the formation of active sites during the selective catalytic reduction of O₂ with excess H₂ in the presence of unsaturated hydrocarbons. In this case high catalytic activity and selectivity toward the oxygen removal was achieved for this catalyst.