A series of Pd/La-Al2O3（PLA） catalysts with La-Al2O3（LA） support calcined at different temperatures（500, 700, 900 and 1050 oC） were prepared using an incipient wetness impregnation method. The activity of the fresh and hydrothermally aged PLA catalysts were tested for total oxidation of CO and C3H8. The activity of the fresh PLA catalysts for CO and C3H8 oxidation increased with increasing calcination temperature of the support, while the activities of the aged catalysts declined and became essentially the same. CO chemisorption results revealed that the suppressed activities of the aged catalysts were mainly due to the decline of palladium dispersion. The turnover frequency（TOF） of CO oxidation increased with increasing reduction ability of the catalysts, with a fresh catalyst calcined at 1050 oC having the highest value（0.048 s–1）. However, the TOF of C3H8 total oxidation was affected by not only the redox properties of catalysts but also the size of Pd particle, and large Pd particles possessed higher TOF value of C3H8 oxidation, with the highest value（0.125 s–1） being obtained on an aged catalyst calcined at 500 oC.
A series of K-promoted Pt/Al2O3 catalysts were tested for CO oxidation. It was found that the addition of K significantly enhanced the activity. A detailed kinetic study showed that the activation energies of the K-containing catalysts were lower than those of the K-free ones, particularly for catalysts with high Pt contents （51.6 k）/mol for 0.42K-2.0Pt/Al2O3 and 6：3.6 kJ/mol for 2.0Pt/Al2O3 ）. The CO reaction orders were higher for the K-containing catalysts （about -0.2） than for the K-free ones （about -0.5）, with the former having much lower equilibrium constants for CO adsorption than the latter. In situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that surface CO desorption from the 0.42K-2.0Pt/Al2O3 catalyst was easier than from 2.0Pt/Al2O3. The promoting effect of K was therefore caused by weakening of the interactions between CO and surface Pt atoms. This decreased coverage of the catalyst with CO and facilitated competitive O2 chemisorption on the Pt surface, and significantly lowered the reaction barrier between chemisorbed CO and O2 species.
