Synthesis and characterization of molybdenum catalysts supported on γ-Al2O3-CeO2 composite oxides

The physical and chemical properties of a catalyst play a vital role in various industrial applications. Molybdenum catalysts supported on γ-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3-CeO2 mixed oxides with varying loading of CeO2 (5, 10, 15, 20 wt % with respect to γ-Al2O3) were prepared by wet impregnation method. The physiochemical properties of these synthesized Mo catalysts were studied with various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive analysis (FESEM-EDX) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF).The results showed that the addition of CeO2 into the support affected the binding energies of the elements and reducibility of the metal oxides formed after calcination of catalyst samples due to the change in metal-support interaction. Further, the characterization techniques showed that the active metal was well dispersed on the surface of support material.