Combined XPS and TPR study of sulfur removal from a Pt/BaO/Al2O3 NOx storage reduction catalyst

Pt/Al2O3 and Pt/BaO/Al2O3 catalysts (1 wt% Pt, 10 wt%BaO) were sulfated under conditions simulating a real NSR catalyst operation. Comparative TPR and XPS studies of sulfur removal from Pt/Al2O3 and Pt/BaO/Al2O3 catalysts indicate that the sulfur removal from Al2O3 surface precedes reductive decomposition of BaSO4 (250–400 °C). Barium sulfate decomposition started with further increase in desulfation temperature at the point of surface atomic ratio Ba:S = 1 (~450o). Simultaneously, an intensive formation of sulfide species on the catalyst surface was observed. Thermodynamic analysis of the desulfation process allows us to hypothesize that barium sulfide formation may hinder sulfur removal under reducing conditions.