Changes in Ba Phases in BaO/Al₂O₃ upon Thermal Aging and H₂O Treatment

The effects of thermal aging and H₂O treatment on the physicochemical properties of BaO/Al₂O₃ (the NO _x storage component in the lean NO _x trap systems) were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, TEM/EDX and NO₂ TPD. Thermal aging at 1000 °C for 10 h converted dispersed BaO/BaCO₃ on Al₂O₃ into low surface area crystalline BaAl₂O₄. TEM/EDX and XRD analysis showed that H₂O treatment at room temperature facilitated a dissolution/reprecipitation process, resulting in the formation of a highly crystalline BaCO₃ phase segregated from the Al₂O₃ support. Crystalline BaCO₃ was formed from conversion of both BaAl₂O₄ and a dispersed BaO/BaCO₃ phase, initially present on the Al₂O₃ support material after calcinations at 1000 and 500 °C, respectively. Such a phase change proceeded rapidly for dispersed BaO/BaCO₃/Al₂O₃ samples calcined at relatively low temperatures with large BaCO₃ crystallites observed in XRD within 10 min after contacting the sample with water. Significantly, we also find that the change in barium phase occurs even at room temperature in an ambient atmosphere by contact of the sample with moisture in the air, although the rate is relatively slow. These phenomena imply that special care to prevent the water contact must be taken during catalyst synthesis/storage, and during realistic operation of Pt/BaO/Al₂O₃ NO _x trap catalysts since both processes involve potential exposure of the material to CO₂ and liquid and/or vapor H₂O. Based on the results, a model that describes the behavior of Ba-containing species upon thermal aging and H₂O treatment is proposed.