Sintering of Supported Metal Catalysts: Application of a Mechanistic Model to Experimental Data

Abstract

When noble metals are used as catalysts, the metal is generally dispersed on a high surface area support in the form of small crystallites (< 3 nm in diameter). One of the functions of the support is to physically separate the metal crystallites and thereby hinder the agglomeration of the metal crystallites. This agglomeration would decrease the metal surface area and therefore cause a loss of catalytic activity. This process of metal particle growth is generally called catalyst sintering or aging. It is in this context that the term sintering will be used throughout this paper.