Comparative study of perovskite Pr_(1-x)Ca_xCoO₃ e Gd_(1-x)Ca_xCoO₃ (x=0,2) synthesized by gelatin modified route for application in automotive catalysis

Increased air pollution intensified the search for materials that could convert pollutant gases into less harmful substances. Thus, mixed oxides with perovskite structure began to be developed for presenting important features for the automotive catalysis. In this study has been compared the chemical composition of the materials with Pr_(1-x)Ca_xCoO₃ and Gd_(1-x)Ca_xCoO₃ (x = 0.2) synthesized by the method gelatine. The samples were characterized by techniques: Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and subjected to the catalytic test in methane combustion reaction. The evaluation of the catalytic activity showed that gadolinium catalyst is more efficient compared with the praseodymium catalyst, although they have similar maximum conversion of methane at high temperature, during the catalytic test the material with gadolinium showed higher catalytic activity and stability. (author)