High catalytic activity of Co-Fe/α-Al₂O₃ in the steam reforming of toluene in the presence of hydrogen

The addition of hydrogen to the reactant gas for the toluene steam reforming enhanced the stability and activity of Co-Fe/α-Al₂O₃ (Fe/Co=0.25), which is due to the suppression of the oxidation of the bcc Co-Fe alloy phase as the catalytically active species. It is characteristic that the adsorption of hydrogen on Co-Fe/α-Al₂O₃ was much stronger than that on Co/α-Al₂O₃, suggesting that the coverage of adsorbed hydrogen species can be rather high under the reaction conditions. The kinetics analysis gave almost first reaction order with respect to toluene and higher reactivity of toluene than benzene indicate that the activated adsorption of toluene can proceed via its methyl group and it can be assisted by adsorbed hydrogen species at the bcc Co-Fe alloy surface.