Hydrogen production from steam reforming of methanol over CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts: Catalytic performance and kinetic modeling

A series of CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3, CuO/ZnO/ZrO_2/Al_2O_3 and CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 catalysts were prepared by coprecipitation and characterized by N_2 adsorption, XRD, TPR, N_2O titration and HRTEM. The catalytic performances of these catalysts for the steam reforming of methanol were evaluated in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor at 0.1 MPa and temperatures between 473 and 543 K. The results showed that the catalytic activity depended greatly on the catalyst reducibility and the specific surface area of Cu. An approximate linear correlation between the catalytic activity and the Cu surface area was found for all catalysts investigated in this study.Compared to CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3, the ZrO_2-doped CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3 exhibited higher activity and selectivity to CO,while the CeO_2-doped catalyst displayed lower activity and selectivity. Finally, an intrinsic kinetic study was carried out over a screened CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 catalyst in the absence of internal and external mass transfer effects. A good agreement was observed between the model-derived effluent concentrations of CO(CO_2) and the experimental data. The activation energies for the reactions of methanol-steam reforming, water-gas shift and methanol decomposition over CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 were 93.1, 85.1 and 116.5 k J·mol~(-1), respectively.     

Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol over palladium-promoted Cu/ZnO/A12O3 catalysts

The effect of Pd on a Cu/ZnO/A1₂O₃ catalyst for methanol synthesis from CO₂/H₂ has been investigated. Activities of impregnated catalysts and physical mixtures were studied in an internal recycle reactor under 5 MPa, 250°C and a range of conversions. In all cases, the promotion of methanol production was greater at higher flow rates (lower conversions). The promotion achieved by use of Pd/A1₂O₃+ Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ physical mixtures was found to increase with Pd content. Greater promotion was observed over the Pd impregnated Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts, although this was insensitive to the particular Pd loadings used. The results are consistent with the proposal that hydrogen spillover is responsible for the observed promotion. The effectiveness of Pd as a promoter for the reduction of CuO in the catalysts was studied by TPR and was found to be related to the level of promotion in methanol production.     

A comparative study of Ag/Al2O3 and Cu/Al2O3 catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by C3H6

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by C₃H₆ in excess oxygen was evaluated and compared over Ag/Al₂O₃ and Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts. Ag/Al₂O₃ showed a high activity for NO reduction. However, Cu/Al₂O₃ showed a high activity for C₃H₆ oxidation. The partial oxidation of C₃H₆ gave surface enolic species and acetate species on the Ag/Al₂O₃, but only an acetate species was clearly observed on the Cu/Al₂O₃. The enolic species is a more active intermediate towards NO + O₂ to yield—NCO species than the acetate species on the Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The Ag and Cu metal loadings and phase changes on Al₂O₃ support can affect the activity and selectivity of Ag/Al₂O₃ and Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts, but the formation of enolic species is the main reason why the activity of the Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst for NO reduction is higher than that of the Cu/Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

Surface properties and reactivity of Cu/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for NO reduction by C3H6: Influences of calcination temperatures and additives

The influences of calcination temperatures and additives for 10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts on the surface properties and reactivity for NO reduction by C₃H₆ in the presence of excess oxygen were investigated. The results of XRD and XPS show that the 10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts calcined below 973 K possess highly dispersed surface and bulk CuO phases. The 10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ and 10 wt.% Mn–10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts calcined at 1073 K possess a CuAl₂O₄ phase with a spinel-type structure. In addition, the 10 wt.% La–10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst calcined at 1073 K possesses a bulk CuO phase. The result of NO reduction by C₃H₆ shows that the CuAl₂O₄ is a more active phase than the highly dispersed and bulk CuO phase. However, the 10 wt.% Mn–10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst calcined at 1073 K possesses significantly lower reactivity for NO reduction than the 10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst calcined at 1073 K, although these catalysts possess the same CuAl₂O₄ phase. The low reactivity for NO reduction for 10 wt.% Mn–10 wt.% Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst calcined at 1073 K is attributed to the formation of less active CuAl₂O₄ phase with high aggregation and preferential promotion of C₃H₆ combustion to CO_x by MnO₂. The engine dynamometer test for NO reduction shows that the C₃H₆ is a more effective reducing agent for NO reduction than the C₂H₅OH. The maximum reactivity for NO reduction by C₃H₆ is reached when the NO/C₃H₆ ratio is one.     

Hydrogen production by oxidative methanol reforming on Pd/ZnO: Catalyst preparation and supporting materials

Pd and Pd–Zn alloy were supported on various supporting materials using impregnation, co-precipitation and microemulsion methods, and their catalytic performances in oxidative methanol reforming (OMR) were investigated. Pd/ZnO exhibited much higher selectivity than either Pd/Al₂O₃ or Pd/ZrO₂ in the OMR for hydrogen production. This was attributed to the presence of Pd–Zn alloy on the ZnO support. Elemental Pd on Al₂O₃ or ZrO₂ promotes methanol decomposition reaction and increases CO formation. Using a microemulsion method, a highly selective Pd/ZnO can be obtained with much lower Pd loading than that in samples prepared by co-precipitation. Modification of Al₂O₃ with ZnO produced a ZnAl₂O₄ phase, which was found to be a good support for the Pd/ZnO catalyst. Highly active and selective Pd/ZnO/ZnAl₂O₄ catalysts for the OMR reaction, containing much lower Pd loadings have been developed by impregnation of the supports with an aqueous solution of Pd(NO₃)₂ + Zn(NO₃)₂.     

Catalytic oxidation of phenol in aqueous solutions

The objective of this work is to investigate catalyst systems for the oxidation of phenol in water in a batch autoclave. The main experimental variables are the type and the composition of the catalyst, the catalyst loading, temperature, oxygen partial pressure, initial phenol concentration and the stirrer speed. Commercial catalysts were used. Experimental work was conducted in two different laboratories. In one laboratory, the catalysts tested were 35% CuO+65% ZnO; 5–15% CuO+85–95% Al₂O₃; 26% CuO+74% Cu Chromite. In the other laboratory, the catalysts tested included 35% CuO+65% ZnO; 5–10% Ba₂CO₃+<5% C+30–40% CuO+60–70% ZnO; and 8–15% Al₂O₃+1–5% C+35–45% CuO+40–50% ZnO. With some of these catalysts depending on the operating conditions, complete phenol conversion could be obtained within 90 min. Under certain experimental conditions, the reaction underwent an induction period after which there was a transition to a much higher activity regime. The induction period may be due to an autocatalytic reaction system or to a very slow rate of formation of hydroquinone and catechol which then readily oxidize to o- and p-benzoquinone. An increase in the temperature and the oxygen partial pressure decreased the induction period, which increased as the catalyst to phenol ratio increased. 26% CuO+74% Cu Chromite and 8–15% Al₂O₃+1–5% C+35–45% CuO+40–50% ZnO were found to be the most active catalysts.     

载体改性对Cu/B/Al2O3结构及其催化醋酸仲丁酯加氢性能的影响

以γ-Al₂O₃为载体采用分步浸渍法制备了不同金属氧化物进行载体改性的Cu/B/M/Al₂O₃(M=Mg,Ca,Ni)催化剂,并测试了其催化醋酸仲丁酯加氢反应的性能。结果表明,以NiO进行载体改性的催化剂导致酯加氢反应中大量酸催化产物及烃类出现;以MgO进行载体改性不利于金属Cu的分散且催化剂的结构稳定性较差;以CaO对γ-Al₂O₃载体进行改性不仅能够促进金属Cu的分散,提高催化剂的酯加氢活性和产物选择性,而且可以有效减少反应中非活性碳物种在催化剂表面的沉积。     

Hydrodesulfurization over supported monometallic, bimetallic and promoted carbide and nitride catalysts

The preparation of alumina-supported β-Mo₂C, MoC_1−x (x≈0.5), γ-Mo₂N, Co–Mo₂C, Ni₂Mo₃N, Co₃Mo₃N and Co₃Mo₃C catalysts is described and their hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalytic properties are compared to conventional sulfide catalysts having similar metal loadings. Alumina-supported β-Mo₂C and γ-Mo₂N catalysts (Mo₂C/Al₂O₃ and Mo₂N/Al₂O₃, respectively) are significantly more active than sulfided MoO₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts, and X-ray diffraction, pulsed chemisorption and flow reactor studies of the Mo₂C/Al₂O₃ catalysts indicate that they exhibit strong resistance to deep sulfidation. A model is presented for the active surface of Mo₂C/Al₂O₃ and Mo₂N/Al₂O₃ catalysts in which a thin layer of sulfided Mo exposing a high density of sites forms at the surface of the alumina-supported β-Mo₂C and γ-Mo₂N particles under HDS conditions. Cobalt promoted catalysts, Co–Mo₂C/Al₂O₃, have been found to be substantially more active than conventional sulfided Co–MoO₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts, while requiring less Co to achieve optimal HDS activity than is observed for the sulfide catalysts. Alumina-supported bimetallic nitride and carbide catalysts (Ni₂Mo₃N/Al₂O₃, Co₃Mo₃N/Al₂O₃, Co₃Mo₃C/Al₂O₃), while significantly more active for thiophene HDS than unpromoted Mo nitride and carbide catalysts, are less active than conventional sulfided Ni–Mo and Co–Mo catalysts prepared from the same oxidic precursors.     

Effect of the addition of transition metals to Pt/Ba/Al2O3 catalyst on the NOx storage-reduction catalysis under oxidizing conditions in the presence of SO2

The NO_x storage-reduction catalysis under oxidizing conditions in the presence of SO₂ has been investigated on Pt/Ba/Fe/Al₂O₃, Pt/Ba/Co/Al₂O₃, Pt/Ba/Ni/Al₂O₃, and Pt/Ba/Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts compared with Pt/Ba/Al₂O₃, Pt/Fe/Al₂O₃, Pt/Co/Al₂O₃, Pt/Ni/Al₂O₃, Pt/Cu/Al₂O₃ and Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts. The NO_x purification activity of Pt/Ba/Fe/Al₂O₃ catalyst was the highest of all the catalysts investigated in this paper after an aging treatment. That of the aged Pt/Ba/Co/Al₂O₃ and Pt/Ba/Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts was essentially the same as that of the aged Pt/Ba/Al₂O₃ catalyst, while that of the aged Pt/Ba/Cu/Al₂O₃ and Pt/Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts was substantially lower than the others.

The Fe-compound on the aged Pt/Ba/Fe/Al₂O₃ catalyst has played a role in decreasing the sulfur content on the catalyst after exposure to simulated reducing gas compared with the Pt/Ba/Al₂O₃ catalyst without the Fe-compound. XRD and EDX show that the Fe-compound inhibits the growth in the size of BaSO₄ particles formed on the Pt/Ba/Fe/Al₂O₃ catalyst under oxidizing conditions in the presence of SO₂ and promotes the decomposition of BaSO₄ and desorption of the sulfur compound under reducing conditions.     

The roles of Cu, Zn and Mn in Cu0.5Zn0.5Mn2O4 spinel-lattice catalyst for methanol decomposition

Cu_0.5Zn_0.5Mn₂O₄ spinel-lattice catalyst has been studied for methanol decomposition by in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy analysis and micro reactor study. Methoxy species is formed by dissociative adsorption of methanol which subsequently converts into formate species via step-wise dehydrogenation process. The activities of surface intermediates on reduced CuO, ZnO and Mn₂O₃ catalysts are strongly affected by the ease of hydrogen desorption from the site, the strength of C–H bonding and the availability of oxygen. A synergism between Cu and MnO whereby the Cu serves as a sink for reverse hydrogen atoms spillover from MnO has been proposed. The micro reactor analysis correlates well with the IR results.     

Physico-chemical properties of V-Sb-oxide systems and their catalytic behaviour in oxidative dehydrogenation of light paraffins

Catalysts prepared as bulk VSb_0.1O_x and supported V₂O₅/Al₂O₃, V₂O₅-Sb₂O₃/Al₂O₃ and Sb₂O₃/Al₂O₃ (containing 0.5, 1 or 2 theoretical monolayers of V₂O₅ or Sb₂O₃) were tested in the oxidative dehydrogenation of iso-butane at 550°C in i-C₄H₁₀:O₂:He=20:10:70 gas mixture. Fresh and used catalysts were characterised by BET, XRD and XPS. Reactivity and thermochemistry of active oxygen taking part in the redox cycle with ethane and hydrogene were studied using in situ differential scanning calorimetry. Temperature-programmed desorption of O₂ in He flow was also investigated and in situ DRIFT was applied to investigate surface species of the catalysts in flows of i-C₄H₁₀, O₂ and i-C₄H₁₀/O₂ mixture. Supported VSb_yO_x catalysts are more active and selective than bulk one. V-only supported catalysts display a high efficiency due to the high reactivity of VOX-species. In bulk catalyst, the surface is enriched with antimony. In supported samples, the surfaces V/Sb are close to the calculated ones. In the presence of antimony, the amount of active oxygen species and their reactivity in redox transformation is improved. The rates of vanadium reduction and reoxidation are also higher. Compared to V-only catalysts, supported V-Sb-catalysts display a lower coking activity and higher on-stream stability.     

Characterization and catalytic activity of Pd/V2O5/Al2O3 catalysts on benzene total oxidation

The role of vanadium oxide and palladium on the benzene oxidation reaction over Pd/V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalysts was investigated. The Pd/V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalysts were more active than V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ and Pd/Al₂O₃ catalysts. The increase of vanadium oxide content decreased the Pd dispersion and increased the benzene conversion. A strong Pd particle size effect on benzene oxidation reaction was observed. Although the catalysts containing high amount of V⁴⁺ species were more active, the Pd particle size effect was responsible for the higher activity.     

Active sites in Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO/H2

Among various Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts with the Cu/Zn ratio of 3/7, the one with 15 wt.% of ZrO₂ obtains the best activity for methanol synthesis by hydrogenation of CO. The TPR, TPO and XPS analyses reveal that a new copper oxide phase is formed in the calcined Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts by the dissolution of zirconium ions in copper oxide. In addition, the Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst with 15 wt.% of ZrO₂ turns out to contain the largest amount of the new copper oxide phase. When the Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalysts is reduced, the Cu²⁺ species present in the ZrO₂ lattice is transformed to Cu⁺ species. This leads to the speculation that the addition of ZrO₂ to Cu/ZnO catalysts gives rise to the formation of Cu⁺ species, which is related to the methanol synthesis activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst in addition to Cu metal particles. Consequently, the ratio of Cu⁺/Cu⁰ is an important factor for the specific activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO₂ catalyst for methanol synthesis.     

Oxides of copper, ceria promoted copper, manganese and copper manganese on Al2O3 for the combustion of CO, ethyl acetate and ethanol

Combustion of CO, ethyl acetate and ethanol was studied over CuO_x/Al₂O₃, CuO_x–CeO₂/Al₂O₃, CuMn₂O₄/Al₂O₃ and Mn₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts. It was found that modification of the alumina with ceria before subsequent copper oxide deposition increases the activity for combustion of CO substantially, but the effect of ceria was small on the combustion of ethyl acetate and ethanol. The activity increases with the CuO_x loading until crystalline CuO particles are formed, which contribute little to the total active surface. The CuO_x–CeO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst is more active than the CuMn₂O₄/Al₂O₃ catalyst for the oxidation of CO but the CuMn₂O₄/Al₂O₃ catalyst is more active for the combustion of ethyl acetate and ethanol.

Thermal ageing and water vapour in the feed caused a modest decrease in activity and did not affect the CuO_x–CeO₂/Al₂O₃ and CuMn₂O₄/Al₂O₃ catalysts differently. In addition, no difference in intermediates formed over the two catalysts was observed.

Characterisation with XRD, FT-Raman and TPR indicates that the copper oxide is present as a copper aluminate surface phase on alumina at low loading. At high loading, bulk CuO crystallites are present as well. Modification of the alumina with ceria before the copper oxide deposition gives well dispersed copper oxide species and bulk CuO crystallites associated to the ceria, in addition to the two copper oxide species on the bare alumina. The distribution of copper species depends on the ceria and copper oxide loading. The alumina supported copper manganese oxide and manganese oxide catalysts consist mainly of crystalline CuMn₂O₄ and Mn₂O₃, respectively, on Al₂O₃.     

磁性CuO-Bi2O3/Fe3O4-SiO2-MgO催化剂的制备及甲醛乙炔化性能

采用浸渍法和共沉淀法制备了一系列不同Cu含量的超顺磁CuO-Bi₂O₃/Fe₃O₄-SiO₂-MgO催化剂。使用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪(ICP-AES)、低温N₂物理吸-脱附、X射线衍射(XRD)、H₂程序升温还原(H₂-TPR)、振动样品磁强计(VSM)对催化剂的组成、结构、织构及磁性能进行表征, 评价了该催化剂催化甲醛乙炔化合成1, 4-丁炔二醇的催化活性。结果表明, 制备方法对催化剂中活性组分CuO的存在状态及炔化性能有较大影响, 采用共沉淀法较浸渍法制备的催化剂具有更高的比表面积、CuO分散度与较好的还原能力, 表现出较高的炔化性能;Cu含量是影响催化剂炔化性能的另一重要因素, 随Cu含量的增加, 催化剂活性逐渐增加, 在本研究考察范围内, 以共沉淀法制备的Cu质量分数为30%的催化剂表现出最佳的甲醛乙炔化性能。同时, 该催化剂具有良好的超顺磁性, 可以在外加磁场的作用下迅速分离回收, 循环使用6次后, 其催化活性明显高于非磁性催化剂。     

Effect of copper species and the presence of reaction products on the activity of methane oxidation on supported CuO catalysts

The activity of the various CuO species found in supported copper catalysts and the effect of the presence of reaction products, CO₂ and H₂O, was studied during the complete oxidation of methane. Series of copper catalysts supported on ZrO₂, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ with different metal concentrations were analyzed under identical experimental conditions of reactant concentration and temperature. The catalysts were characterized by TPR, UV–vis spectroscopy and XRD. The results show that the activity of supported CuO is closely related to the kind of Cu species formed on the different supports. It was found that the Cu species formed on ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ are dependent on the metal loading/support's surface area ratio, and that the activity of highly dispersed Cu is substantially higher than that of bulk CuO. In the case of silica, only the formation of bulk CuO was detected, accounting for the low activity of CuO/SiO₂ catalysts. The activity of highly dispersed Cu species formed on ZrO₂ is higher than those formed over Al₂O₃, and it is not significantly affected by the formation of bulk CuO on the surface. On the contrary, the activity of copper species formed on alumina decreases continuously as the Cu loading is increased. Thus, for the range of copper loading studied in this work, the activity of the catalysts, per gram of loaded Cu, follows the sequence: CuO/ZrO₂ > CuO/Al₂O₃  CuO/SiO₂. It was also found that CO₂ does not inhibits the activity of the CuO/ZrO₂ catalysts, while water inhibits the combustion reaction of methane, with an estimated reaction order of about −0.2 for temperatures between 360 °C and 420 °C.     

Ce1−xCuxO2−x/Al2O3/FeCrAl catalysts for catalytic combustion of methane

A series of the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x/Al₂O₃/FeCrAl catalysts (x = 0–1) were prepared. The structure of the catalysts was characterized using XRD, SEM and H₂-TPR. The catalytic activity of the catalysts for the combustion of methane was evaluated. The results indicated that in the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x/Al₂O₃/FeCrAl catalysts the surface phase structure were the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x solid solution, -Al₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃. The surface particle shape and size were different with the variety of the molar ratio of Ce to Cu in the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x solid solution. The Cu component of the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x/Al₂O₃/FeCrAl catalysts played an important role to the catalytic activity for the methane combustion. There were the stronger interaction among the Ce_1−xCu_xO_2−x solid solution and the Al₂O₃ washcoats and the FeCrAl support.     

NOx storage-reduction catalysts based on hydrotalcite: Effect of Cu in promoting resistance to deactivation

Novel NO_x storage-reduction (NO_xSR) catalysts prepared by Pt and/or Cu impregnation of Mg–Al (60:40) hydrotalcite (HT)-type compounds show better performances in NO_x storage than Pt–Ba/Al₂O₃ Toyota-type NO_xSR catalysts at reaction temperatures lower than 250 °C. The presence of Pt or Cu considerably enhances the activity, with the former more active. The nature of the HT source, however, also influences performance. The co-presence of Pt and Cu slightly worsens the low temperature activity, but considerably promotes the resistance to deactivation after severe hydrothermal treatment and in the presence of SO₂. This effect is attributed to both the possibility of formation of a Pt–Cu alloy after reduction, and the modification of the HT induced during the deposition of Cu. The overall Pt–Cu/HT performances are thus superior to those of the Pt–Ba/Al₂O₃ Toyota-type NO_xSR catalysts.     

Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3的CO氧化性能

采用柠檬酸络合法制备一系列不同铜铈比的Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂,用XRD、H2-TPR对其进行表征,采用连续固定床微反装置对Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂CO催化氧化活性进行评价。结果表明,Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂的XRD图谱中除归属于γ-Al_2O_3的晶相峰外,还出现CuO和CeO_2的晶相峰。高温水热引起活性组分CeO_2的晶粒聚集、长大和尖晶石结构CuAl2O4物质的生成;CuO-CeO_2之间的共生共存与相互作用,使得Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂中具有非完整结构的[Cu2+1-xCu+x][O1-12x12x]增多,Cu+离子和氧空位增多,有利于其H2-TPR还原峰温度向低温区偏移,有利于提高其CO的催化氧化活性,使得Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂的TCO50和TCO90降低。Cu与Ce物质的量比为5∶5制备的Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3-55催化剂的TCO50和TCO90分别降至最低的162℃和199℃,表明此时的Cu-Ce-O协同效应最佳;CuO-CeO_2二相的共生共存与相互作用有利于减少高温水热环境下活性组分的聚集和晶粒长大,有利于Cu-Ce-O/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂能够保持较高的CO催化氧化活性。     

Catalytic selective reduction of NO with propylene over Cu-Al2O3 catalysts: influence of catalyst preparation method

NO reduction to N₂ by C₃H₆ was investigated and compared over Cu-Al₂O₃ catalysts prepared by four different methods, namely, the conventional impregnation, co-precipitation, evaporation of a mixed aqueous solution, and xerogel methods. It was found that the catalyst preparation method as well as the Cu content exerts a significant influence on catalyst activity. For the catalysts prepared by the first three preparation methods, with the increase of Cu content from 5 to 15 wt%, the maximum NO reduction conversion decreased slightly, but the temperature for the maximum NO reduction also decreased. For the xerogel Cu-Al₂O₃, there was a significant decrease in NO reduction conversion with the increase of Cu content from 5 to 10 wt%. In the absence of water vapour, the Cu-Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by the impregnation method exhibited the highest activity toward NO reduction. The purity of alumina support was found to be a crucial factor to the activity of the Cu-Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by impregnation. In the presence of water vapour, a substantial decrease in NO conversion was observed for the Cu-Al₂O₃ catalysts prepared by the first three methods, especially for the impregnated Cu-Al₂O₃ catalyst. In contrast, the presence of water vapour showed only a minor influence on the xerogel 5 wt% Cu-Al₂O₃ and it showed the highest activity for NO reduction in the presence of 20% water vapour. The xerogel 5 wt% Cu-Al₂O₃ catalyst was also found to be less affected by a 5 wt% sulfate deposition than the Cu-Al₂O₃ catalysts prepared by other methods.