Vibrational Study of SOx Adsorption on Pt/SiO2

Journal article, 2014

The formation of ad-SOx species on Pt/SiO2 upon exposure to SO2 in concentrations rang- ing from 10 to 50 ppm at between 200 and 400◦C has been studied by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transformed spectroscopy. In parallel, first-principles calculations have been carried out to consolidate the experimental interpretations. It was found that sulfate species form on the silica surface with a concomitant removal/ rearrangement of silanol groups. For- mation of ad-SOx species occurs only after SO2 oxidation to SO3 on the platinum surface. Thus SO2 oxidation to SO3 is the first step in the SOx adsorption process, followed by spillover of SO3 to the oxide and, finally, the formation of sulfate species on the hydroxyl positions on the oxide. The sulfate formation is influenced by both temperature and SO2 concentration. Furthermore, exposure to hydrogen is shown to be sufficiently efficient as to remove ad-SOx species from the silica surface.